Reincarnation of The Strongest Sword God

2061-2080

Chapter 2061 - Advanced Bloodline

A magic array surrounded the crystal pillar in the center of the hall, preventing players from approaching.

Although the seal seemed quite simple, not even a Tier 4 being could force their way through it.

When Shi Feng stepped up to the barrier and lightly tapped it, a system window opened before him, introducing the magic array.

Truly amazing. If I hadn't already grasped the technique to decipher Advanced Magic Arrays, I wouldn't have been able to do anything but stare at this barrier. Shi Feng couldn't help his surprise after gaining a general understanding of the array.

There were two types of magic arrays that protected system-generated treasure in God's Domain.

The first type disappeared once the Guardian Boss protecting the treasure died.

The second type required players to unravel the magic array through their own abilities. This type didn't care for players' combat power, but their ability to understand magic arrays.

The first type was the easiest to remove, but as players leveled up, they'd begin to encounter more of the second type. Hence, it had been very important for players to take on the Magician subclass and develop it during Shi Feng's previous life. Many expert players had to study magic arrays seriously even though they hated learning about them, especially magical class players.

Due to how common the second type of magic arrays had become at later levels, God's Domain's various Guilds had also turned more focus to the Magician subclass. During the game's later stages, a Master Magician's status wasn't any lower than that of a Master Forger or Master Alchemist.

Meanwhile, to remove the magic array protecting the crystal pillar before Shi Feng, one had to be a master at deciphering Advanced Magic Arrays at the very least

Normally, players only encountered Basic ranked sealing magic arrays after Level 70. It was very rare to find an Intermediate Magic Array protecting items of this level, yet the array before him required an Advanced Magician to untangle.

Although the various superpowers had tasked many of their players to learn about magic arrays, there were very few Intermediate Magicians at this stage of the game, much less Advanced Magicians.

Once Shi Feng had inspected the array, he began to dismantle it

Dismantling a magic array wasn't particularly difficult, although that didn't mean it was easy, either. As long as a player knew how to draw the sealing magic array in question, it could be undone.

Looking at the array, Shi Feng was relieved that he had already become an Advanced Magician. Otherwise, he could only watch as a Bloodline slipped through his fingers.

Finally, after studying for five hours, Shi Feng finally learned how to draw the sealing magic array. The barrier around the crystalline pillar began to shatter, and shortly after, it fell away entirely, revealing the pillar before Shi Feng.

The crystal pillar was translucent, and the Bloodline within it shone with a dazzling light Due to the magic barrier around the pillar, Shi Feng hadn't felt anything particular from the Bloodline, but now that he had removed the magic array, he could feel an intense pressure, the difference between his Life Rating and the Bloodline's, press down on him.

Although he only stared at the Bloodline, he felt as if he were being suppressed.

Is it an Advanced Bloodline?! Shi Feng could not help his surprise as he felt the pressure.

Bloodlines fell into three categories: Basic, Advanced, and Peak. The Dark Iron Bloodline he had obtained from the Divine Shrine was a Basic Bloodline. However, since the Dark Iron Bloodline was extremely compatible with the Swordsman class, it was considered a top-ranked Basic Bloodline, yet despite that, he still felt an immense pressure from the Bloodline within the crystal pillar.

The only explanation was that his Life Rating was inferior to this Bloodline.

Hence, Shi Feng guessed that it was an Advanced Bloodline. Although he very much wished that it was a Peak Bloodline, Peak Bloodlines were as rare and valuable as Legendary items. The chances of finding one in the Ancient God's Maze were abysmally low, even for Asura Mode. On the other hand, the chances of finding an Advanced Bloodline were relatively high.

Even so, Shi Feng was stunned.

Any Advanced Bloodline could make reaching higher tiers far easier for players. With a little talent and effort, reaching Tier 5 wouldn't be a problem. An Advanced Bloodline would even help players when challenging their Tier 6 promotion, which was why God's Domain's various major powers had gone mad over Bloodlines in the past.

Without hesitation, Shi Feng strode up to the crystalline pillar and removed the crystal bottle. He then inspected the bottle's Attribute Panel.

[Elemental Bloodline]

After obtaining this bloodline, a player will become one of the elements' favored children, gaining increased compatibility with all Spells. Mainly improves Intelligence and Vitality, followed by Agility, Endurance, and Strength.

It really is an Advanced Bloodline! After inspecting the Elemental Bloodline, Shi Feng was ecstatic.

Although the Elemental Bloodline's Attribute Panel did not indicate the Bloodline's rank, Basic Bloodlines only focused on one Attribute, while Advanced Bloodlines increased two. Since the Elemental Bloodline concentrated on two Attributes, it had to be an Advanced Bloodline. Moreover, the ability it provided was incredibly powerful, increasing a player's compatibility with all Spells. It was, at the very least, far more powerful than any of the Advanced Bloodlines Shi Feng had seen in the Divine Shrine.

If a magical class player used this Bloodline, their overall prowess would increase. This was certainly a top-tier Advanced Bloodline, even more valuable than top-tier Fragmented Legendary items.

Shi Feng carefully stored the Elemental Bloodline before he continued to explore the Ancient God's Maze.

The maze was excruciatingly complex, and each time he entered a new hall, he had to face another group of Elemental monsters. Moreover, these monsters' Levels were a notch above the first group he had faced, all Level 75 or higher.

However, after equipping the Twilight Blade, Shi Feng's combat power had risen significantly, and as a result, he was able to kill these stronger monsters faster than he had the first hall's Elemental Guards.

Unfortunately, Shi Feng only dared to watch the Guardian Bosses in these halls from afar. The easiest Guardian Boss he encountered was a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species, and some halls were even guarded by Mythic monsters. Without the ability to rely on summoned creatures, he'd only find an early grave if he tried to face these Guardian Bosses.

However, Shi Feng didn't let any of the Elemental monsters off the hook, even if he couldn't do anything about the Guardian Bosses. These monsters were walking Epic Armor Kit Fragments and Elemental Cores. Encountering an opportunity like this in the future wouldn't be easy.

As such, Shi Feng grinded in the Ancient God's Maze for 12 full days, wiping out every Elemental Creature, that was not a Guardian Boss, he came across.

After exploring the Ancient God's Maze for so long, Shi Feng eventually discovered a unique hall. This one was far better decorated than its neighbors. Rather than stone pillars, this hall's pillars were made of Mana Stone. However, due to the hall's poor lighting, Shi Feng could only see 60 yards around him.

The moment Shi Feng set foot on the floor of Magic Crystal, he struggled to breathe. A deafening roar then assaulted his ears, and the entire hall trembled violently at the sound.

The roar faded, and before Shi Feng could regain his composure, a bright light illuminated the area.

In the hall that could fit hundreds of thousands of people, a 60-meter-tall Bronze Dragon loomed before Shi Feng. The Bronze Dragon's incredible aura was so powerful that it warped space around it, and when bathed in this aura, Shi Feng couldn't even move an inch... 

Chapter 2062 - Bronze Dragon King A Dragon!?

Shi Feng stared at the titanic figure before him in disbelief. Even though he stood several hundred yards away from the Dragon, its aura felt as if he stood before a towering mountain. The pressure he felt from the Dragon was absolutely stifling. Its aura was so powerful that he couldn't even move; he could only stand there quietly, staring at the being.

Powerful!

Destruction!

Death!

These words ran through Shi Feng's mind as the Dragon's aura washed over him.

[Bronze Dragon King] (Dragon, Tier 5) Level???

HP??????/??????

Shi Feng had no doubt that the slightest exhale from this Bronze Dragon could turn him to dust. Even a Tier 5 existence would be powerless before this Bronze Dragon King.

A Dragon's Life Rating was extremely high, and once it reached adulthood, it would automatically advance to Tier 5. The weakest Tier 5 Dragon was an apex existence among other Tier 5 beings, and even during the Gods' era, the Dragon race had been one of the most powerful. Even Gods and Demons were afraid of Dragons.

Meanwhile, among Dragons, there were Dragon Kings. Dragon Kings' Bloodline was beyond the reach of ordinary Dragons. At Tier 5, they could even contend with Tier 6 Gods.

If a Tier 5 human NPC encountered a Tier 5 Dragon King, they'd have no hope of surviving. If they were wise, Tier 6 God- ranked players would take the long way around a Tier 5 Dragon King. Trying to fight such a being head-on would be the epitome of foolishness.

Fortunately, this Bronze Dragon King was sealed within a magic array. Otherwise, Shi Feng wouldn't have even had time to run. With a wave of his claw, the Bronze Dragon King could send Shi Feng on a free trip back to White River City.

This is the final test?

After seeing the raging Bronze Dragon King behind the magic barrier, Shi Feng shifted his attention to his surroundings. The hall contained a second magic array, and within it sat a resplendent box.

Most players might not think much of this box, but Shi Feng, who was unusually familiar with God's Domain, realized that this box had been made with Seven Luminaries Crystal.

Seven Luminaries Crystal was incomparably valuable to both players and NPCs. It was one of the reasons that so many major corporations invested in God's Domain.

Nothing else in the hall grabbed Shi Feng's attention. Unlike the previous halls, this one only contained a Guardian Boss. There weren't any mobs for Shi Feng to kill.

Although Shi Feng wanted to approach and inspect the Bronze Dragon King, his powerful aura prevented the Swordsman from moving.

After raging for another ten seconds or so, the Bronze Dragon King eventually calmed down. The ferocity of its aura also began to lessen, and Shi Feng regained control of his body.

But as soon as Shi Feng began to relax, the imprisoned Dragon spoke.

"Little human! The fact that you have reached this place proves that you have some ability. According to the rules those despicable Gods and Demons had set, I will give you three options," the Bronze Dragon King said, watching Shi Feng. "Your first option is to accept my trial. If you pass, you'll receive the treasure those Gods and Demons left behind. Taking the Gods and Demons' oath is your second option. You can also acquire the treasure this way. Your third option involves signing a contract with me. Although you won't get the treasure, you will receive my blessing. My blessing will grant you strength beyond human limits. Make your decision."

Although the Bronze Dragon King spoke in the Dragon language, which Shi Feng knew nothing about, he was actually able to understand the Dragon King's intentions.

There are choices? The situation surprised Shi Feng a little. He had never imagined that the final hall in the Ancient God's Maze would offer him choices. He had never heard of such a thing.

According to his knowledge regarding the Secret Key's trial, players weren't given any choices. If players wanted any of the trial's treasures, they had to defeat the Guardian Bosses, yet he now had three options to consider.

The first option was undoubtedly the standard procedure. If players were confident of their strength, the first option would be the best.

The second option allowed players to obtain the treasure without risking themselves overmuch. Many players would likely choose this option without a second thought. This was the final hall in the Ancient God's Maze, after all. The treasure in this room would be extraordinary, but Shi Feng understood one thing; there were no free lunches in this world. Current players might know nothing about Gods and Demons' oaths, but he did.

During his previous life, these oaths had earned the nickname 'Divine Contracts,' and every one of them was a two-way deal.

By signing a Divine Contract, players would have to abide by the conditions the Gods and Demons had set. If they failed to do so, they'd suffer a miserable fate. Many in the past had eagerly signed Divine Contracts and failed to meet the stipulated conditions, and in the end, they had suffered such severe penalties that they had been forced to delete their accounts.

Hence, while the second option the Bronze Dragon King had stated sounded good, the risk was considerable.

The third option wasn't much different than the second, although this contract would be between the player and the Bronze Dragon King. There was no real difference between signing the Bronze Dragon King's contract and signing one with Gods and Demons. Although the third option wouldn't award the final hall's treasure, a Dragon King's blessing was just as extraordinary.

Any blessing held great significance to players, especially the Bronze Dragon King's. Its effects were likely even stronger than that of a Bloodline.

Blessings were so valuable in God's Domain because of how few were granted.

Only incomparably powerful existences could bless others, and those that received a blessing would acquire great power. However, this power had its price. The blessing's giver would have to segment a fraction of their strength, granting it to their target. In other words, the blessing giver would lose strength to empower others. Hence, even Tier 6 Gods were incredibly careful when offering a blessing. They never gave one on a whim.

"May I know what the oath's conditions are?" Shi Feng asked after giving the matter some thought.

"This I cannot answer. You may only learn more about the oath after taking it. This is a condition those Gods and Demons set for me so long ago," the Bronze Dragon King explained indifferently. "Human, I do not have much patience. You only have ten minutes to consider."

Can't tell me, huh? Shi Feng realized what was happening after listening to the Bronze Dragon King's words.

Since players could obtain the treasure by taking the oath, it's conditions were undoubtedly quite strict. However, whether or not a player could accept these conditions remained unknown. By denying players the oath's details, players couldn't determine the conditions' severity. This also ensured some sense of fairness to the Bronze Dragon King's situation. If players knew the oath's conditions, they wouldn't bother with the Dragon's blessing.

"Human, what is your choice?" the Bronze Dragon King demanded in a deep tone after ten minutes had passed.

After taking in a deep breath, Shi Feng replied, "The first option!"

Whether it was the Gods and Demons' oath or the Bronze Dragon King's contract, the risk was too great. On the off chance that he couldn't fulfill the conditions, he would have to delete his account and start all over again. He didn't dare take such a gamble.

"What? The first option?" Shi Feng's decision stunned the Bronze Dragon King. "Are you sure that is your choice?" 

Chapter 2063 - Suppressed Swordsmanship

Confusion flashed in the Bronze Dragon King's eyes as he watched Shi Feng. He was so surprised by this Swordsman's answer that he couldn't help but ask for confirmation.

"Yes. I choose to accept your trial, Dragon King," Shi Feng said, nodding.

"You really are a strange human. Ever since this maze was built, thousands of adventurers have visited, but none have accepted my trial because they already knew what outcome awaited them. Do not think my trial is so easy to complete!" the Bronze Dragon King growled. "But since you have decided, according to the rules the Gods and Demons have set, if you can survive against me for three days, you will pass my trial. Let's begin!"

The Bronze Dragon King began to chant an incantation, and abruptly, he began to disintegrate into countless particles of light, passing through the magic barrier the Gods and Demons had set up. After passing through the barrier, these particles of light gathered to form a humanoid shape before Shi Feng.

After a short moment, a soldierly, middle-aged man in a suit of bronze stood within the hall.

Unlike ordinary people, golden, divine runes marked this man's face and body, as if they were a seal. Death and destruction filled his amber eyes, which didn't contain a shred of humanity.

Humanization?! Shi Feng stared at the soldierly man in astonishment.

Extremely few beings were capable of humanization in God's Domain. Rather, only legendary monsters were capable of the feat. Not only was humanization a sign of peerless strength, but it was also proof of a monster's frightening intellect.

To current players, a monster's intellect, at most, equated higher combat standards, making these monsters more difficult to defeat than normal monsters. However, as players progressed through the game, they would discover that monsters with high intellect were absolute nightmares.

Humanized monsters had, in the past, turned many kingdoms and empires upside down.

One kingdom had even perished during a humanized monster's attack. That monster had merely been a Tier 4 Mythic ranked creature, and by that time, many experts had already reached the same Tier. However, even after the various superpowers had combined their strength, the humanized monster had annihilated their forces. Since no one was capable of stopping the monster's rampage, the kingdom had been obliterated in the end.

The humanized monsters that had been defeated had only lost because they had been Tier 3 beings. Even so, defeating these monsters had required a large group of Tier 4 experts and a collection of powerful tools.

This was when players had realized the horror of high-intellect monsters in the past. The humanized monsters' superhuman-like combat standards had even surpassed that of Domain Realm experts. In fact, the two weren't even on the same level.

"Human, according to the Gods and Demons' rules, I will not use my full power against you. Moreover, you have 300 chances to succeed. You simply need to survive against me for three days," the Bronze Dragon King said as he smiled at Shi Feng. "If you don't have any more questions, let the slaughter begin!"

Shi Feng's expression darkened as an unprecedented chill wrapped around him. Almost instinctively, Shi Feng activated Void Shield, and his mind went on maximum alert.

Although he had known that this trial wouldn't be easy, he hadn't expected it to be this difficult.

Players that hadn't experienced this situation might assume that the conditions for the Bronze Dragon King's trial were quite simple. They only had to survive against a Level 70, Tier 3 monster for three days, and they were given 300 lives to do so. Even an ordinary expert could clear this trial with easy, much less a peak expert.

However, Shi Feng recognized this for what it was. This was a one-sided slaughter.

By the same time as Shi Feng's Void Shield took effect, the Bronze Dragon King, which had been 30 yards away a moment ago, stood before him. Before Shi Feng realized it, a Dragonscale Greatsword had already stabbed through the Void Shield.

What amazing footwork! Shi Feng stared at the longsword in shock.

He had focused all of his attention on the Bronze Dragon King, his five senses never deviating from his opponent, yet the Dragon King had evaded his detection and arrived before him like a ghost It was as if the Dragon King had used an Instantaneous Movement Skill, but Shi Feng knew that he hadn't relied on some low-class Skill or Spell. Rather, the Dragon King had executed a footwork technique, which had no Cooldown and could be used as the Dragon King desired, that exceeded common sense...

Meanwhile, with that one attack, the Bronze Dragon King had instantly dealt over -400,000 damage to the Void Shield. In other words, this opponent could destroy Shi Feng's Void Shield in seven hits.

Seeing this, Shi Feng didn't dare to hold anything back. He immediately leaped backward and used Shadow Blade.

Under Shi Feng's control, ten sword lights struck at the Bronze Dragon King, aimed to seal the Dragon King's movements and allow Shi Feng to increase the distance between them.

Although the Bronze Dragon King was only a Level 70 Great Lord, its Basic Attributes easily surpassed that of a Grand Lord of the same level. There was no doubt that this Dragon King's Attributes were much higher than Shi Feng's. He had no chance in a head-on clash. Hence, he could only try to put as much distance between them as possible and buy as much time as he could.

"A good attack. Despite being a mortal, you've actually reached such a standard," the Bronze Dragon King leisurely praised Shi Feng as he examined the Swordsman's incoming attacks.

Just before the ten sword lights found their mark, the Dragon King swung his greatsword, shattering the sword lights before they could come within 20 centimeters.

The Bronze Dragon King's swing created a mesmerizing arc of light, which even captivated Shi Feng, but in the next second, the Dragon King stood next to Shi Feng, and he hadn't even seen his opponent move. Again, the Dragonscale Greatsword had thrust into his Void Shield before Shi Feng had realized it

After taking the hit, Shi Feng instinctively executed Sword's Orbit, his reactions visibly slower than the Bronze Dragon King's.

Shi Feng had hoped that Sword's Orbit would force the Dragon King to retreat, but he advanced instead, his Dragonscale Greatsword vanishing suddenly. The Dragon King used the weapon to deflect Sword's Orbit and strike the Void Shield again.

So, this is a humanized monster? Shi Feng could not help his shock as his Void Shield was struck, again and again.

He had always surpassed his enemies by suppressing them with his swordsmanship, but this Bronze Dragon King's swordsmanship did the same to him.

The Bronze Dragon King's slashes were so fast that his eyes could not keep up. He didn't even have the luxury to breathe while trying to defend himself. He barely even sensed that the Dragon King was attacking him.

One hit... Two hits... Three hits...

After several strikes, the Void Shield finally shattered, and Shi Feng had to rely on his skills to avoid or block the Bronze Dragon King's attacks.

To hell with it! At this point, Shi Feng recognized how close he was to failing this trial. He immediately executed Sword's Transmigration, the strongest combat technique in his arsenal. 

Chapter 2064 - Realm that Surpasses Human Limits

As Shi Feng executed Sword's Transmigration, five sword lights intercepted the Bronze Dragon King's silent attacks.

Boom... Boom... Boom-

Deafening metallic clangs echoed throughout the hall, and the collision's resulting shockwave was so intense that it made Shi Feng shudder. Moreover, his arms had gone numb from the impact. It was so severe that he struggled to move them.

The Bronze Dragon King had leisurely executed his attacks, and his Basic Attributes were only slightly higher than Shi Feng's, yet he generated enough power to overwhelm Sword's Transmigration's Strength tolerance.

Shi Feng could barely understand what could cause such a result

Without waiting for Shi Feng to recover, the Bronze Dragon King's Dragonscale Greatsword vanished once more. Unlike before, however, the Dragon King's attack was truly silent. Shi Feng couldn't sense the slightest hint of the Dragon King's attack trajectory before he felt a stinging pain in his chest. Before he realized it, the Bronze Dragon King had thrust his greatsword in Shi Feng's chest, his HP depleting rapidly without signs of stopping.

He is already beyond human limits? Shi Feng looked up at the Dragon King in surprise as the humanized Boss retrieved his weapon. Shi Feng's vision darkened as his HP fell to zero, and he fell to the ground, lifeless.

Sword's Transmigration was the strongest combat technique Shi Feng possessed. He was even confident of posing a threat to Domain Realm experts by relying on the technique.

However, against the Bronze Dragon King, Sword's Transmigration had only kept him alive for one move.

The Bronze Dragon King was an apex existence in God's Domain. Both his attacks and movement techniques were simply amazing. The Dragon King could launch his attacks without alerting Shi Feng as if the Boss's boy acted without commands from his mind. The Bronze Dragon King's reflexes were so fast that Shi Feng's mind couldn't even react.

Although such a feat was normally impossible, the Bronze Dragon King had done it. He had completely surpassed human limits.

Shi Feng finally realized why the various superpowers in the past had dispatched tons of Tier 4 experts to defeat Tier 3 humanized monsters that were a much lower level, and even they, the players had still suffered tremendously to secure victory.

Five seconds after Shi Feng died, he appeared before the magic array that had sealed the Bronze Dragon King with full HP. It felt as if the skirmish had been a dream.

However, when Shi Feng glanced at the Bronze Dragon King's humanoid form nearby, he understood that this was no dream.

"Alright, let's begin the second round!" the Bronze Dragon King stated as he unsheathed his Dragonscale Greatsword and resumed his attacks.

Now that Shi Feng had experienced the Dragon King's power, he didn't dare clash with the Boss head-on. If he wanted to avoid dying 300 times in three days, he needed to buy as much time for himself as possible. With this in mind, Shi Feng turned and fled.

As if he had predicted this ploy, the Bronze Dragon King threw his greatsword at Shi Feng, forcing the Swordsman to a halt to avoid the flying weapon. Taking advantage of the brief pause, the Dragon King appeared behind Shi Feng, and without alerting the player, another Dragonscale Greatsword appeared in the Boss's hands, swinging toward Shi Feng before he had time to register the movement.

Fortunately, Shi Feng had expected something like this and had activated Divine Steps a moment earlier. He promptly switched places with one of his doppelgangers, which were invulnerable to attacks.

The following events happened as Shi Feng had expected. Once the Bronze Dragon King realized that the doppelganger before him was immune to damage, he attacked the other Shi Feng copies. Although Shi Feng couldn't perceive the Dragon King's strikes, he knew that everyone revealed some weakness when attacking. Discovering the Bronze Dragon King's weakness was precisely his goal.

Following which, Shi Feng swapped positions with the same doppelganger. He then turned and slashed at the Guardian Boss.

As the Dragon King attacked another doppelganger, his side was exposed. Seeing this, Shi Feng was ecstatic, and the hand that held Killing Ray sped towards the opening.

Dang!

However, just before the Sacred Sword met its target, an imperceptible attack countered the weapon, stopping its advance. So fast!

The counterattack made Shi Feng realize that even if he found an opening in the Bronze Dragon King's defenses, he couldn't take advantage of it. The Dragon King was far faster than Shi Feng and could easily defend himself once he detected the incoming strike. Relying on speed to defeat the Bronze Dragon King would be impossible.

Before Shi Feng could follow up with another attack, the Bronze Dragon King shoved his greatsword through Shi Feng's chest again, and the Swordsman collapsed...

Although Shi Feng suffered a second death, he didn't feel discouraged.

Since he was no match for the Bronze Dragon King's speed, he'd have to contend with this opponent through his Strength. After running away to buy time and evading the Dragon King's thrown greatsword, Shi Feng had realized that he couldn't shake off the Boss. His only option was to face the Dragon King directly.

On his third attempt, Shi Feng used Shadow Blade and merged the ten blades into pairs. He then sent the five pairs of blades flying at the Bronze Dragon King.

The Dragon King found Shi Feng's attempt at retaliation amusing.

In response, the Dragon King swung its greatsword at the five attacks' convergence point. The convergence point of each attack was the size of a strand of hair, but the Bronze Dragon King countered all five pairs with the tip of his greatsword, nullifying one blade in each pair. This effectively transformed the five combination attacks into five ordinary attacks. The Dragon King's counter had also altered the remaining blades' trajectories.

After nullifying Shi Feng's Shadow Blades, the Bronze Dragon King killed him again.

However, Shi Feng refused to give up. Instead, he continued to try different methods of buying time and retaliated against the Dragon King.

Ten times... Thirty times... One hundred times...

The Bronze Dragon King killed Shi Feng, again and again. Without knowing how much time had passed, Shi Feng immersed himself in the battle, focusing on nothing but fighting.

Through these repeated battles, Shi Feng was able to verify his theories and challenge his ideas. As a result, he continued to extend his survival time. Initially, he had only survived against the Dragon King for a few seconds, but now, he could last more than 20 seconds.

Despite the Bronze Dragon King's ability to perfectly and effortlessly neutralize his attacks, Shi Feng's fighting spirit burned brighter as he fought. He insisted on trying out more attack methods, despite numerous failures.

After dying over 200 times, both Shi Feng's mind and body were exhausted. His reactions were slowing, and even though he was immersed in a high-Mana environment, he was still slightly pale.

Eventually, the Bronze Dragon King initiated the 300th match.

Advancing, the Bronze Dragon King arrived before Shi Feng, launching six slashes that escaped the Swordsman's notice. This time, however, Shi Feng took a half step back and swung Killing Ray and the Twilight Blade in cross slash.

Not only did Shi Feng manage to dodge four of the Dragon King's attacks, but he also deflected the remaining two with his own swords. However, due to the extreme power of the Dragon King's attacks, Shi Feng hadn't altered the greatsword's trajectory by much. As a result, one of the Dragon King's attacks grazed Shi Feng's shoulder, dealing more than -100,000 damage.

He blocked my attacks? Confusion flashed in the Bronze Dragon King's eyes as he stared at Shi Feng. Shouldn't he be exhausted by now? How did he block them? Did he get lucky?

"I don't care how lucky you may be; this is the end!"

After Shi Feng blocked the Bronze Dragon King's attacks, the Boss assaulted his target more fervently.

Nine Extreme Slashes! 

Chapter 2065 - Domain Realm

Nine streaks of silver light cut at Shi Feng. Not only were the Dragon King's Nine Extreme Slashes silent, but the sword lights also bloomed like flowers, creating a mesmerizing scene. When the silver flowers bloomed, the world around the Dragon King seemed to freeze.

If Miracle Dragon, from Miracle, saw this, he'd be stunned.

He had been trying to master the technique, but the Bronze Dragon King's execution was perfect. Not only did the Dragon King's nine sword lights avoid all forms of perception, but their trajectories eventually converged at a single point, as well. The Bronze Dragon King had just executed a fully offensive combat technique.

When the sword lights met, space around them shattered. A pitch-black spatial tear extended toward Shi Feng, but despite the fact that the attack was impossible to detect, Shi Feng responded, moving his feet forward and positioning Killing Ray in front of him. Then, he activated Parry, his actions simple and straightforward. From afar, it would seem as if Shi Feng moved very slowly, and a spectator would see his every action.

However, these slow motions actually blocked the Bronze Dragon King's Nine Extreme Slashes.

Boom!

When the Dragonscale Greatsword collided with Killing Ray, a deafening boom echoed throughout the hall, and the resulting shockwave was so intense that it reached several hundred yards away. Due to the impact, Shi Feng stumbled over a dozen yards back.

After the dust settled, it revealed a deep cut in the ground at the Dragon King's feet, spreading 30 yards away from the Boss. The power of the Bronze Dragon King's Nine Extreme Slashes was even greater than some Tier 3 Skills...

The Bronze Dragon King, who was responsible for this display of power, wore an astonished expression.

A human actually saw through my attack? The Bronze Dragon King frowned at the horizontal cut before his feet The angle of the cut wasn't a result of his Nine Extreme Slashes. It was obvious that his attack had been deflected. If Shi Feng hadn't seen his attack trajectory, the human wouldn't have succeeded; he would've been sent flying.

However, the Bronze Dragon King did not know that Shi Feng hadn't seen his attacks in the least. Rather than selfreflection, Shi Feng had forced his way through the bottleneck he had been stuck in and finally entered the Domain Realm.

The outcome even surprised Shi Feng.

After such a long life-or-death battle, he was exhausted. Even his vision was blurry. He couldn't sense the Bronze Dragon King's attacks normally, much less with blurry vision. Under such extreme conditions, Shi Feng had used every method he could think of to detect the Dragon King's attacks. Finally, rather than trying to predict the Boss's attacks by watching his arms and body, Shi Feng began to read the Dragon King's breathing and subtle movements.

After repeated deaths and experiments, he finally managed to 'see' the Bronze Dragon King's attack trajectory.

So, this is the Domain Realm? Shi Feng could not help his growing excitement as he glanced at the trembling Sacred Sword in his hand.

He had finally risen to the realm he had never been able to touch.

Perhaps it was because of his widened horizons or his changed perception of the world, but he now felt as if the world around him was utterly new.

He finally understood how amazing it was to wield a Domain. It was no wonder why Domain Realm experts were considered monsters.

Now, he could predict his opponents' intentions and movements by watching the subtle changes to their bodies. It was no wonder why Domain Realm experts easily toyed with weaker players.

However, the distant Bronze Dragon King had no intention of stopping his assault as Shi Feng celebrated his successful evolution into the Domain Realm. The Dragon King immediately advanced and swung his Dragonscale Greatsword toward Shi Feng's neck.

Previously, every time the Dragon King had employed such lightning-fast attacks, Shi Feng had fallen in the next moment. But the Swordsman wasn't as blind as he had been. Although barely, he read and predicted a fraction of the Bronze Dragon King's attacks and countered them.

Dang! Dang! Dang!

Metallic clangs echoed throughout the hall.

The battle that had been one-sided for so long had evolved into a fierce back-and-forth. Although Shi Feng was still at a complete disadvantage, and his HP continued to fall, this fight was no longer a one-sided slaughter.

Although Shi Feng had entered the Domain Realm, he still shocked by the Dragon King's strength. He could counter some of the Boss's attacks now, yet the Dragon King didn't evade his counterattacks, receiving them head-on. As a result, the massive gap between them hadn't shortened in the slightest despite Shi Feng's newfound ability to predict some of the Dragon King's attacks...

Following which, Shi Feng activated one Skill after another. He had even activated Life Domain. In the end, however, he couldn't change the outcome as the Bronze Dragon King continued to shave away his HP. It was only a matter of time before he died, yet as luck would have it, this was his 300th attempt If he died again, he would fail this trial.

Seeing how little HP he had remaining, Shi Feng couldn't help but sigh. He decided to use all of his cards and see how far he could go.

Not even a full day had passed since he had begun this trial. With the small fraction of HP he clung to, he wouldn't even survive five more minutes, much less two more days.

Since he was going to die anyway, he might as well use this Bronze Dragon King to test his new strength.

Shi Feng used the Twilight Blade's two Active Skills, Twilight's Shadow and Twilight of the Gods. The Twilight Domain dominated everything within 100 yards of Shi Feng. Suddenly, he split into eight copies of himself, each with 75% of the main body's Basic Attributes. Each copy then claimed a Twilight Blade, and their Basic Attributes soared to 85% of the original form.

Although Shi Feng had sacrificed some of his Basic Attributes to activate Twilight of the Gods, he had turned the one-on- one fight into an eight-on-one battle.

As the Bronze Dragon King charged toward him again, Shi Feng activated the Ring of Gospel's Ring of Brilliance as well. Unfortunately, Shi Feng didn't have enough Magic Crystals on him to activate Miniature World, but due to Ring of Brilliance, his doppelgangers now had 100% of his Basic Attributes. Their physiques were even stronger than his main body's.

"Meaningless tricks!" The Bronze Dragon King sneered at Shi Feng. In response, he summoned a second Dragonscale Greatsword, dual-wielding the two massive weapons. The intensity of his aura also skyrocketed.

He still reserved some of his strength? Shi Feng tensed as he felt the Bronze Dragon King's aura grow.

"It's over, human!" the Bronze Dragon King growled, transforming into a streak of light as he moved toward Shi Feng. His Movement Speed was significantly higher than it had been, which made his movements more difficult to read.

Divine Flash!

Not one to fall behind, Shi Feng surrounded the Dragon King with all eight of his clones and executed Sword's Transmigration simultaneously.

However, as he exchanged blows with the Bronze Dragon King, Shi Feng's vision abruptly darkened, and he fell forward. The Dragon King stood before Shi Feng proudly, his expression as indifferent and arrogant as it had always been. The Dragon King had known that this trial was impossible for any mortal since the very beginning.

However, just as the Bronze Dragon King was about to return to the magic barrier, he halted, frozen in place. Looking down, he discovered a faint, white mark on his arm. He had actually lost 1 HP.

"He injured me?" Shock brightened the Bronze Dragon King's eyes as he stared at the mark on his arm. 

Chapter 2066 - Legendary Item

Shi Feng expected the system to teleport him out of the Ancient God's Maze after his battle with the Bronze Dragon King, but when he reopened his eyes, he wasn't in the outside world. Instead, he found himself inside an elegant hall.

A red carpet crossed the hall, leading to a golden throne at one end. A beautiful galaxy of stars decorated the ceiling, allowing the hall's occupants to view the universe.

Spear-wielding Knights in golden armor stood alongside the red carpet. Not only were they all Level 200, but the weakest Knight among them was also Tier 4. The Knight Captain in the lead was even a Tier 5 being. Moreover, none of the Knights were human, but bona fide Angels.

Any one of these Tier 4 Knights could rival a Tier 5 human NPC in terms of combat power. The Knight Captain could even rival a Tier 5 Dragon.

If these Angels wished it, they could obliterate an entire empire.

Before Shi Feng could process what was happening, the sound of a system notification reached his ears.

System: Congratulations! You have triggered the hidden event, "Hero's Heart," and have been summoned by the Archange, Vatra.

Archangel Vatra? The system notification surprised Shi Feng.

The Angel race's Life Rating was only slightly weaker than that of the Dragon race, and among Angels, Archangels were akin to Dragon Kings. They could even contend with Tier 6 Gods.

Every Archangel had a mission and was more than capable of influencing the entire continent of God's Domain.

In the past, a Tier 6 Berserker God named Double Brilliance had been an unknown, ordinary player during the game's early stages, but after a fortuitous encounter with an Archangel, he had activated an ancient world and shook the very foundation of God's Domain, altering the status quo. Double Brilliance had even been responsible for some superpowers' fall. Like a raging cyclone, he had grown stronger at a tremendous rate and eventually became a Tier 6 Berserker God.

God's Domain's players had regarded Double Brilliance's achievement as one of the game's legends. Many players dreamed of their own Archangel encounter. Unfortunately, players had only encountered such beings twice in Shi Feng's previous life.

He had certainly never expected to meet an Archangel here.

Before Shi Feng could snap out of his daze, a handsome man with pure-white robes and four equally white wings appeared before him.

Shi Feng had failed to sense this Angel's movement, but more surprising, he felt nothing from this being. Although the Angel stood before him, it didn't feel as if the Angel truly existed. He was nothing like the Bronze Dragon King, who had radiated an intensely stifling pressure. If not for the magic array that had sealed the Dragon King, he would've likely killed Shi Feng with his aura alone.

"I have watched your battle with the Bronze Dragon King, and I have to say, it was very interesting! Not even the Bronze Dragon King had imagined that a human like you could injure him," the male Angel said, laughing heartily as he watched Shi Feng. He then continued in a softer tone, "During your battle, I was able to sense your bravery and tenacity. Hence, I have invited you here in the hope that you can help me with something. Are you willing to assist me?"

System: Do you wish to accept Archangel Vatra's request?

"Lord Vatra, it would be my honor," Shi Feng respectfully replied.

Only a fool would refuse a request an Archangel's request The quests Archangels issued weren't like normal quests. If one failed an Archangel's quest, they wouldn't suffer a penalty, and the quest's rewards would be beyond imagination.

Take Double Brilliance's reward, for example. According to the rumors, Double Brilliance had received his patron Archangel's blessing after completing his quest. Not only had his individual strength skyrocketed, but he had also secured an advantage from the ancient world he had activated, allowing him to perform one impossible feat after another.

"Wonderful! Currently, God's Domain's World Barrier is clashing with the Undead World's World Barrier. This, in turn, has created holes in God's Domain's Barrier. Taking advantage of this situation, some of the Undead World's inhabitants have snuck into God's Domain and begun to cause havoc. Although we Angels wish to stop them, we cannot interfere with the continent's matters due to the rules the various Gods have set for us. Hence, we need a representative to handle these matters," Vatra said. "I wish to appoint you as my representative in removing the Undead from the continent of God's Domain."

System: You have accepted the Hidden Quest "Undead World."

Quest content: You must annihilate the Undead hiding and causing chaos on the God's Domain continent. Rewards unknown.

"Of course, you cannot complete the task with your current strength. Hence, I have prepared two items for you. The first is the Dragon Summoning Flute I've carefully handcrafted. The second item is this stone. These two items will help you deal with the Undead that have snuck into God's Domain."

After saying so, Vatra revealed a shining horn and simple black stone, handing them to Shi Feng.

[Dragon Summoning Flute (Replica)] (Legendary Rank Item)

A horn rumored to summon a flock of Dragons.

Spend 3,000 Advanced Magic Cores to summon five Dragons to assist in battle for 3 hours. Cooldown: 15 days

(The Dragons summoned can only fight NPCs. They cannot fight players or monsters.)

A Legendary item?! Shi Feng was stunned into silence as he examined the Dragon Summoning Flute.

He had to admit that a Legendary item was awe-inspiring. The Dragon Summoning Flute could actually summon five Dragons. If only he could use it during his own battles, it would be a truly incredible item.

However, the cost to use the flute was painfully high. Advanced Magic Cores could only be obtained from high-ranked Bosses. Moreover, Advanced Magic Cores had a large variety of uses. Not only could they be used as a component when crafting Master Potions, Epic Weapons, and Epic Equipment, but they were also necessary for building many types of constructions. At this stage of the game, even first-rate Guilds would be fortunate if they had 2,000 Advanced Magic Cores, yet the Dragon Summoning Flute required 3,000 for each use. No ordinary Guild could afford such an expenditure.

After inspecting the Dragon Summoning Flute, Shi Feng shifted his attention to the black stone in his other hand.

[Mysterious Stone] (Consumable)

From the outside, it looks just like a simple stone. However, this stone contains a strand of a God's power. It has a chance of granting players self-awakening. This stone may be used up to 33 times.

Self-awakening?! Is this stone that amazing?! Shi Feng was still speechless after reading the black stone's introduction.

Self-awakening might be a foreign concept to current players, but Shi Feng was quite familiar with the idea. Self-awakening could allow players to master a combat technique forcibly.

Of course, learning a combat technique so brutally had a downside. Players would consume far more Stamina when using the technique they learned through self-awakening. However, this method also had its benefits. Self-awakening would allow players to experience what it felt like to use the full technique and master it, which would, in turn, lower the technique's Stamina consumption. This process was far more effective than watching a video or experiencing the technique in a different way.

As Shi Feng began to research the black stone, Archangel Vatra waved a hand. Suddenly, Shi Feng felt the system transport him out of the hall as he returned to the space-time tunnel. 

Chapter 2067 - New White River City 

Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City:

When Shi Feng returned to White River City, he discovered that the city had undergone massive changes while he had been gone.

He had only been away for two weeks or so, yet experts from well-known adventurer teams now crowded the streets. Even the weakest among these experts was Level 63, Tier 2, and they all wore Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment It almost seemed as if such equipment had become widely available, something so common that it wasn't worth players' attention.

Bronze Mounts were also a common sight in the city now. Occasionally, Shi Feng even noticed players atop Mysterious-Iron Mounts. White River City had become almost as prosperous as an empire's imperial capital.

Shi Feng had very nearly failed to recognize the city due to these massive changes.

Moreover, Star-Moon Kingdom's Guards used to protect the city, but now, Guards from other nations patrolled its streets. Shi Feng even spotted players from multiple foreign first-rate Guilds as he walked through the city, including a few peak experts from these Guilds. Shi Feng wasn't the only player to notice these experts. Players who visited White River City for the first time were just as shocked.

"Amazing! Isn't that player wearing the Dawn Light Set for Berserkers!?"

"Look at that Elementalist! He's wearing the Level 60 Fine-Gold ranked Wind Spirit Set! I've heard that the set only drops from Level 60, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons!"

"So, this is White River City? Isn't the equipment these players are wearing here a little too amazing? I have only seen a handful of people with Level 60 Fine-Gold Set Equipment in the Black Dragon Empire's Black Dragon City. How are there so many people with that kind of equipment here?"

The players visiting White River City for the first time couldn't help but asp when they saw the well-equipped experts wandering the city, but the original residents merely spared these experts an indifferent glance. White River City had been developing too quickly, practically every day, and this was no longer an unusual sight.

The city's rapid changes were all due to the Auction Arena System's activation. As the only NPC city in Star-Moon Kingdom and the neighboring kingdoms to have the Auction Arena System, White River City had instantly become the heart of these kingdoms. The various major powers swarmed to the city in an attempt to compete for control of it. Hence, the quantity and quality of the experts here had skyrocketed.

The Auction Arena System also provided a development opportunity for merchant and independent players, who had come running to the city, as well. As a result, White River City had grown into a large-scale NPC city with a player population exceeding 20,000,000. It also had more powers than any other NPC city in Star-Moon Kingdom and its several neighbors.

As for weapons and equipment, even the Level 60 Secret-Silver rank, which was rare in other cities, was almost a standard in White River City. Many experts even wore Level 60 Fine-Gold Equipment. At this point, only Level 60 Dark-Gold Equipment could draw attention in White River City.

Unlike White River City's newest players, the city's original residents paid no attention to the wandering experts and their equipment as they rested and chatted by the roadside. Instead, they were focused on their discussions over the fight for White River City.

"The official struggle for White River City is going to start in two days. Independent players like us will get to enjoy a good show."

"I've heard that there are already four superpowers fighting for supremacy. I wonder how Zero Wing will hold its position? If Zero Wing loses White River City, all of its investments in the city will go to waste."

"Why are we even talking about this? Zero Wing can't hold the city. One of those superpowers will take it in the end. The Auction Arena's competition isn't like field combat Players can't rely on tools in the Auction Arena. Participants will have to rely on powerful experts and resources to win it Zero Wing is much weaker than a superpower in this regard, especially when it comes to the number of peak experts it has. Zero Wing has no chance against the participating superpowers."

"I guess you're right If Zero Wing had another six months, it might have enough resources and experts to contend with superpowers. Unfortunately, White River City has been developing too fast. It was actually one of the first NPCs to get promoted. If it had been a part of the second or third batch to get an Auction Arena, Zero Wing wouldn't have had any issues securing its hold over the city."

Nowadays, nothing grabbed players' attention than the fight for White River City in the Star-Moon Kingdom. Not only would the upcoming fight determine who controlled the city, but it was also the first time these major powers seriously clashed.

The Auction Arena also presented an opportunity for independent players to display their skills in front of these powers in hopes of reaching greater heights.

While this sounded like a joke, it was the best way to become famous overnight.

Now that God's Domain had more influence in the real world, more corporations invested in the game, and they all needed talented experts to work for them. If one could show off in the Auction Arena, one of the various superpowers might extend an olive branch.

As expected of one of the first promoted NPC cities. Its development speed and competition truly are frightening. Shi Feng could not help his surprise as he noticed various Guild players wandering the city streets.

He had seen more than 30 second-rate Guilds and as many as 10 first-rate Guilds since his return to White River City. Not even imperial capitals had this many Guilds, yet this was only what he saw on the surface. Who knew how many more powers lurked in the city in secret?

In the past, Shadow hadn't had any connection to the first wave of promoted NPC cities. At the time, Shadow had already been struggling for its survival in God's Domain, and the Guild had expended all of its available resources just to secure leveling spots and raid Dungeons for its members' equipment How could it have had the strength to compete for a major NPC city?

Shi Feng had only heard stories of how powerful the various entities participating in the Auction Arena's competition were and the competition's intensity. He hadn't actually gotten a realistic sense of how extraordinary the competitions had actually been.

Now that he was a participant, he couldn't help his rueful sigh.

Shi Feng returned to Zero Wing's Residence to organize the materials he had obtained during his trial.

However, as he entered the Guild Hall, Shi Feng noticed that the hall's atmosphere was odd. He could sense a depressing energy throughout the building, and the number of experts in the hall had visibly decreased.

"Youlan, did something happen? What's with the strange atmosphere?" Shi Feng asked Youlan, who currently sorted through the Guild members' information.

"Guild Leader, you're back!" Youlan's face lit with joy when she saw Shi Feng, but then she frowned and said, "While you've been gone, Twilight Echo's survival in the Storm Empire has become unsure. Aqua Rose doesn't want to see the destruction of her family's Guild and doesn't want to implicate Zero Wing, so she has temporarily resigned as Vice Guild Leader to help Twilight Echo under her own name. Many of the players that were originally from Twilight Echo have gone with her. I tried to contact you about this, but I couldn't get through to you."

"Twilight Echo is having an existential crisis?" Shi Feng was surprised to hear the news. "What happened?"

"According to what we know, it seems that Nature Hall is trying to monopolize the Storm Empire and wants every Guild in the area to submit as a subordinate. Since Twilight Echo refuses to submit, it tried to move out of the empire, but Nature Hall refuses to let the Guild get out safely and has threatened to remove Twilight Guild from God's Domain. Thus, the Guild is in danger of perishing," Youlan explained.

"I see." Once he had a general understanding of the situation, Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile and wondered aloud, "Is Zero Wing really that unreliable?"

Twilight Echo was everything to Aqua Rose's family. Although she had broken away from her family's influence to develop independently, if Twilight Echo perished, so would Aqua Rose's family. Naturally, she couldn't just sit by and watch.

However, Nature Hall was not the first-rate Guild it had been in the past. It had secured major corporations' investments and not long ago, had successfully removed a super-first-rate Guild from the Storm Empire. Since it had a long time to develop after that incident, it was easy to imagine how powerful Nature Hall had become.

Considering Zero Wing's current problems, if Aqua Rose used her identity as one of Zero Wing's Vice Guild Leaders to help Twilight Echo, Nature Hall would turn its ire on Zero Wing, increasing its number of enemies.

"Guild Leader, should we send some people to help her?" Youlan asked.

"Of course, we should! Not only are we going to send some of our people, but I also want you to send someone to inform Nature Hall that Twilight Echo is under Zero Wing's protection!" 

Chapter 2068 - Zero Wing's Protection 

Storm Empire, Nether Mine:

The Storm Empire was located in a mountainous region, and various ore veins were common around the empire. As a result, the empire had become famous as an ore producer on the God's Domain continent. Meanwhile, the empire possessed the Nether Mine on one of its borders, which bathed in Nether Energy all-year-round. Because Nether Energy increased Player's Stamina consumption several-fold, and the mountains around the mine were home to Level 70 and above Demonic Beasts, players were rarely interested in grinding and leveling in the area.

However, several thousand players had gathered near one of the creeks between the two mountains. The lowest-leveled of these players was Level 62, and all of them would be considered experts.

Only, these several thousand experts were members of two groups, one with fewer than 400 players, and the other with nearly three thousand.

If the Storm Empire's players were present, they'd be shocked. The smaller group consisted of Twilight Echo's core members, the pillars that supported the Guild. Roughly 30 of them were top-ranked experts in the Storm Empire, and to ordinary players, they were unreachable. The strongest of these experts had to be Dark Wave, Twilight Echo's current Guild Leader and a player that ranked among the top ten within his class.

Many powers operated in the Storm Empire, and its player population was even more frightening. Ranking among the top ten on one's class ranking list was an impressive feat Dark Wave could easily rank among the top 20 or 30 in any kingdom's overall combat power ranking.

Such a group of experts shouldn't even fear an army of 10,000 elite players, but despite facing a legion of less than 3,000, Twilight Echo's core members wore grim expressions. Their eyes even held traces of fear.

"To think Nature Hall would send even you, Vice Guild Leader Owl, to greet us, your Guild must think highly of us," Dark Wave commented to the robust, bear-like man carrying two Epic ranked one-handed axes, fear flashing in his eyes.

Owl Life had only been an ordinary expert, but after joining God's Domain, he had repeatedly challenged the game's experts, growing stronger at a ridiculous rate. In the end, he had grown from an unknown player into one of the Storm Empire's famous experts. He then caught Nature Hall's attention, and the Guild recruited him. After joining Nature Hall, Owl Life's development speed skyrocketed, and he quickly became one of the Guild's capable generals.

When the super-first-rate Guild, Nine-star Family had operated in the Storm Empire, Owl Life had fought and defeated an army of its peak experts. He had even single-handedly killed five peak experts while leading a 5,000-man team to capture one of the super-first-rate Guild's towns. That battle had shaken the empire and made Owl Life famous. Eventually, Owl Life had become one of Nature Hall's Vice Guild Leaders.

Although Dark Wave ranked among the top ten in his own class within the empire, Owl Life ranked among the top ten in the overall rankings. While the difference might not seem major, it was like the difference between a candle flame and a roaring bonfire.

If Owl Life wanted to, he could kill every Twilight Echo expert present.

"Guild Leader Dark Wave, I assume you know Nature Hall's stance on this since I've made the trip here. You people from Twilight Echo should stop deluding yourselves," Owl Life said with a commanding tone, smiling at Dark Wave.

"Twilight Echo has already conceded every high-resource location available. We have even moved to this remote map to grind. We already intend to give up on developing in the Storm Empire. What more do you people want?" Dark Wave said as he tightened his grip on his saber, his expression darkening in frustration.

"The Guild Leader sent me to knock some sense into you," Owl Life said, chuckling. "Either submit or we will remove you from God's Domain permanently. There is no third option. Don't think that we will let you continue to develop just because you've fled to this remote location."

Dark Wave's frown deepened.

Nobody could've expected the competition between the various powers would become so intense after the Auction Arena's activation. To strengthen its hold on the Storm Empire, Nature Hall had begun an all-out war against the empire's powers, eradicating any that opposed it

"Guild Leader, why don't we just fight them?"

"That's right! If we have to go down, we'll take them with us!"

Twilight Echo's experts prepared themselves for a desperate battle in response to Nature Hall's determination to drive them into a corner.

"You want to suffer mutual destruction? Do you really think that you're capable of that?" Owl Life could not help but laugh when he heard Twilight Echo's members.

Owl Life's words incensed Twilight Echo's members further. Only Dark Wave remained silent He had nothing to offer in rebuttal. His silence wasn't due to a lack of courage, but because Owl Life spoke the truth.

No one in the Guild had a better idea than he of how powerful the players who ranked among the top ten on the empire's overall combat power rankings were. It was no exaggeration to consider these players humanoid monsters.

"We don't have any other choice! Once the battle begins, I'll try to pin down Owl Life for as long as I can! Everyone else, split up and run!" Dark Wave said. He then turned to Aqua Rose, who stood beside him, and said, "Aqua, you've seen it for yourself now. Your return can't solve this matter. You need to try to escape this. Don't let Twilight Echo ruin your future."

As Aqua Rose's fourth uncle, he was grateful that his niece had returned to help the family's Guild. Unfortunately, she couldn't change anything. After seeing how Nature Hall treated Twilight Echo, he knew that if any other superpower interfered, Nature Hall would make his Guild suffer for it.

Dark Wave knew that Zero Wing, Aqua Rose's Guild, had been developing quite well recently and was now better off than Twilight Echo. Helping Twilight Echo wasn't worth Aqua Rose losing her opportunity in Zero Wing.

Aqua Rose bowed her head and gritted her teeth in frustration. She had never expected Nature Hall to be so intent on cornering Twilight Echo. If she hadn't returned most of her weapons and equipment to Zero Wing's Guild Warehouse before leaving, she might have been able to fight Owl Life and allow more of Twilight Echo's members to escape.

"You want to flee? Are you even strong enough for that?" Owl Life ridiculed, sneering at the serious expressions on Twilight Echo's members.

However, just before a fight broke out, 1,000 players ran into the valley. An elegant girl in beautiful mage robes, looking like a fairy, led the force, and many of the players in the valley couldn't help but stare.

Among the 1,000 new arrivals, the lowest-leveled player was 63, while most were Level 64. The weakest piece of equipment these players wore was Level 60 Secret-Silver rank. Many of these players even wore Level 60 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment. Both Nature Hall and Twilight Echo's members watched these newcomers with envy.

However, the most noticeable aspect of these players was their sharp auras. They clearly weren't ordinary experts.

"Who are you? Can't you see that Nature Hall is busy here? If you don't want any trouble, leave immediately!" Owl Life warned the approaching 1,000-man legion.

Normally, he would've already commanded his subordinates to eliminate any intruders, but this 1,000-man legion clearly wasn't a normal force. Even his players would suffer if they attacked these new arrivals without care.

"Us? We're from Zero Wing," Violet Cloud said with a faint smile.

"Zero Wing? Isn't that a Guild from Star-Moon Kingdom?" Owl Life faintly recalled such a Guild, and from what he could remember, Zero Wing had been developing excellently recently. He then asked, "Why have you come here?"

"We have orders from our Guild Leader to inform Nature Hall that Twilight Echo is under Zero Wing's protection," Violet Cloud calmly replied. 

Chapter 2069 - Defeating Nature Hall in Two Moves 

"Zero Wing wants to protect Twilight Echo?"

Nature Hall's members were stunned when they heard Violet Cloud's announcement Twilight Echo's members were just as dumbfounded.

Nature Hall was akin to the Storm Empire's emperor. It had already grown powerful enough to demand respect from Super Guilds, yet Zero Wing, which was barely on par with a first-rate Guild, intended to oppose Nature Hall.

"The Guild Leader plans to interfere?" When Aqua Rose saw the 1,000-man legion from Zero Wing, excitement and worry flashed in her eyes.

She hadn't had a specific understanding of Nature Hall before her return to the Storm Empire, but it wasn't long before she realized that Nature Hall shouldn't be provoked. Nature Hall's foundations were beyond her imagination. The Guild already had more than 100 peak experts and tens of thousands of expert members. With so many experts, Nature Hall's rule in the Storm Empire was unshakable.

"How arrogant! This is Nature Hall's territory! Do you think that a few words will protect Twilight Echo?" Owl Life roared in anger. "Not even your ally, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, would dare to act so pompously before Nature Hall!"

"Vice Guild Leader, what's the point of wasting words on them? Since these ignorant players dare to act so insolently before our Guild, we should get rid of them, here and now!"

"That's right! Let's teach these country bumpkins the difference between a kingdom's overlord and an empire's! We'll show them how little they matter in the Storm Empire!"

Nature Hall's members voiced their outrage over Violet Cloud's declaration, even offering to teach Zero Wing's members a lesson.

"We are only here to give you notice. Your reply is irrelevant," Violet Cloud calmly responded. "If you don't have any more questions, we'll be escorting Twilight Echo's members away now."

The valley fell silent when Violet Cloud finished speaking. Even Dark Wave, Twilight Echo's Guild Leader, could not help but gasp at the girl's comment. He could not understand just what gave zero Wing the confidence to provoke the Storm Empire's emperor.

"This is bad!" Anxiously, Dark Wave turned to look and Aqua Rose and said, "Aqua, you need to stop them! If this gets out of hand, Zero Wing will be doomed!"

Aqua Rose nodded, but although she wanted to contact Violet Cloud, Owl Life didn't give her the chance to do so.

"Bastards! Everyone, heed my command and eliminate these lowlifes!" Owl Life snarled as he pointed at Violet Cloud; the chilling gaze he aimed at the young woman even caused the experts around him to shudder.

A little over half of Nature Hall's forces split away from surrounding Twilight Echo's team and charged at Zero Wing's 1,000- man team, their battle cries echoing throughout the valley.

Nature Hall's members moved like well-trained soldiers. Not only were they fast, but they were perfectly in-sync with each other. Eighteen Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights moved to the forefront, radiating a silver glow as divine runes covered their bodies. They all had more than 200,000 HP, and their auras resembled that of ancient war Gods.

"So strong!"

Twilight Echo's members lost their composure when they saw this.

Every member of Twilight Echo's team was an expert. They could easily gauge an opponent's strength based on their aura. The 18 MTs radiated an intensely dangerous feeling, and Twilight Echo's members knew that in a one-on-one, these MTs would blow them away.

Not even their Guild Leader, Dark Wave, could necessarily stop these MTs' assault, even with an active Lifesaving Skill.

"So, this is Nature Hall's Silverlight Battle Array?" Dark Wave could not help but gasp when he saw the MTs' silver glow.

The Silverlight Battle Array was well-known in the Storm Empire. Nature Hall had relied on this battle array to defeat its first super-first-rate Guild when it had still been weaker than Nine-star Family.

He had only ever witnessed the Silverlight Battle Array in videos before, and now that he got to see it in person, the increased Strength, HP, and speed were beyond his expectations. It was no wonder why Nature Hall didn't fear other superpowers.

"Nobody can stop our Guild's Silverlight Battle Array! Let's tear apart these Zero Wing players!" The Nature Hall players that still surrounded Twilight Echo's members laughed as their companions activated the battle array.

The Silverlight Battle Array allowed 18 players to link together. Not only could they share the incoming damage, but their Strength, HPs, Movement Speed, and Attack Speed increased by 30% as well. Most importantly, they could share their senses through the battle array.

However, before the 18 MTs reached Zero Wing's team and tore apart its defensive line, Violet Cloud, who stood among her players, waved her staff.

Dimensional Fracture!

Space tore before Violet Cloud, rapidly extending toward Nature Hall's members. Although the spatial tear looked fine and weak, it felt like the roar of an ancient behemoth. The sky and the earth trembled at its might.

"Dodge it!" Owl Life shouted, panicking. Unfortunately, the spatial tear grew too quickly for his warning to be of any use.

Crack!

The sound of shattering glass shook the valley as the spatial tear reached Nature Hall's MTs, who failed to react in time.

Like a hot knife through butter, the spatial tear cut through the 18 MTs, their bisected forms falling to the ground. Nature Hall's rear line healers had no time to cast a Healing Spell before their MTs lost the last of their HPs. Moreover, the spatial tear didn't stop with the 18 linked MTs, reaping the lives of players standing dozens of yards away...

"Do you still wish to fight us?" Violet Cloud asked as she retracted her staff and gazed upon Nature Hall's members.

With just one move, Violet Cloud had killed over 200 experts. Her indifferent tone suggested that she didn't consider the act significant, and Nature Hall's survivors shuddered in fear.

"You merely have a powerful Spell. Do you really think that none of us can take you down?" Rage flared in Owl Life's eyes as he glared at Violet Cloud.

While he didn't particularly mind the deaths of 200-plus Guild experts, he minded losing the 18 MTs that could utilize the Silverlight Battle Array. The Guild had carefully nurtured all of those players, and every one of them was very close to reaching the Refinement Realm. With the Silverlight Battle Array, each of those players had the combat power to surpass ordinary Refinement Realm experts.

Losing a level might not impact their progress overmuch, but the loss of their weapons and equipment definitely would. They would need a lot of time to recover the items.

Owl Life's body transformed into a blur as he dashed toward Violet Cloud like a vicious gale.

"Crap! Owl Life is attacking!" Dark Wave's darkened as he watched Owl Life make his move.

Owl Life wasn't like the 18 MTs that had died. With his weapons, equipment, and combat standards, He ranked at the very top of the Storm Empire. His two one-handed axes were even Epic Set Weapons. He could easily repel a Great Lord of the same level, and the valley's narrow terrain gave him the perfect battlefield.

If Owl Life reached Zero Wing's team, disaster would ensue.

In less than ten seconds, Owl Life arrived before Zero Wing's members. Although Zero Wing's ranged experts bombarded him with attacks, he effortlessly dodged or blocked the incoming Spells and arrows. None of the attacks managed to reach him.

As they watched, Nature Hall's players felt their blood boil with excitement.

"Hahaha! The Vice Guild Leader is finally making a move!"

"Zero Wing's members are dead for sure!"

However, as Nature Hall's members expected to see Owl Life throw Zero Wing's members into the air, Violet Cloud moved again. Like her previous attack, she lightly waved Death's Sigh and manifested multiple magic arrays around her.

"Are you kidding me!?"

Both Nature Hall and Twilight Echo's members were stunned.

Violet Cloud had called forth 200 magic arrays, a Blade of Darkness forming before each array.

"Go!" Violet Cloud shouted.

Like raindrops, these 200 Blades of Darkness descended on Owl Life, all under Violet Cloud's control. They were not magical projectiles that could only move in a straight line.

"Burial Flower!" Even Owl Life frowned as he watched the 200 Blades of Darkness fly toward him like lively sprites. He immediately activated his Epic axes' Active Skill, and a gigantic flower formed beneath his feet.

Twelve flower petals circled Owl Life, each carrying 100% of his Strength. The petals acted like MTs' shields. Unless Violet Cloud's attacks had higher Strength than he did, they wouldn't break through Burial Flower's defenses.

Burial Flower formed a nearly invincible barrier around him.

Following which, Owl Life charged toward Violet Cloud. However, but the hammering sounds the Blades of Darkness made as they collided with Burial Flower's petals changed Owl Life's expression.

Burial Flower's petals, which contained 100% of his Strength, couldn't withstand the Blades of Shadow. The petals barely deflected the attacks and altered their trajectory.

Against 200 Blades of Darkness, Owl Life's Burial Flower and Epic axes seemed like paper tigers. Even though he fought with everything he had and fully displayed his Void Realm combat standards, he could only dodge or block a fraction of Violet Cloud's attack.

In the blink of an eye, the Blades of Darkness slid through Owl Life's body, plundering the Berserker's HP...

Owl Life, one of the Storm Empire's top ten experts, had been defeated! 

Chapter 2070 - Powerful Zero Wing 

"He died?"

"Owl Life's been killed in one move?"

Nature Hall and Twilight Echo's members gaped in shock after witnessing Owl Life's death, unable to believe their eyes. However, not only did the man's corpse lie before them, but his trademark weapons, the Burial Axes, rested next to his body.

"Aqua, your Guild's experts are quite strong. Is that girl your Guild's number one expert?" Dark Wave asked his niece, his eyes glued on Violet Cloud.

He had known that Zero Wing had been developing impressively, but he hadn't thought it had become this strong.

Violet Cloud's gaze remained indifferent even after killing Owl Life as if she had casually slain a Common monster she had randomly come across. Someone actually treated Owl Life, one of Nature Hall's Vice Guild Leaders, like a Common monster, killing him as if swatting a fly. If news of this spread, it would shake the very core of the Storm Empire.

"No, Violet doesn't rank number one in the Guild, but she should stand among the top five. Only..." Aqua Rose stopped herself, watching Violet Cloud in confusion.

She was very familiar with Violet Cloud's standards; like her, the girl was a Refinement Realm expert. However, Violet had achieved more in the Refinement Realm than she had. Although, if it came down to a fight, and their Levels and equipment were equal, she could fight Violet Cloud to a standstill with her Sea God's Legacy. If the battle happened at sea, she'd wind by a landslide.

If Aqua Rose had to fight a peak expert like Owl Life, even with all of her Epic Equipment, she'd have a very hard time defeating him. As for killing Owl Life in one move, she simply wasn't capable of the feat. The equipment that the various large Guilds' peak experts improved as time passed, yet for some reason, Violet Cloud had killed Owl Life instantly.

Moreover, she had accomplished the feat effortlessly.

No matter how Aqua Rose considered the situation, she couldn't figure how Violet Cloud had done it.

However, Aqua Rose didn't know that Shi Feng had given Violet Cloud the Elemental Bloodline after his return from the Ancient God's Maze, and due to the Advanced Bloodline, Violet Cloud's Basic Attributes had skyrocketed. With her massive Basic Attribute advantage, it was only natural that she had slain Owl Life like a Common monster.

"She's only in the top five with that kind of strength?" Dark Wave stared at his niece in shock. He no longer dared to imagine how powerful Zero Wing truly was.

Nature Hall likely had less than a handful of experts that could kill Owl Life instantly, yet a non-superpower like Zero Wing had four more of these experts...

Meanwhile, Nature Hall's members panicked after watching Owl Life die. Like frightened birds, they scattered and fled from the battlefield, none of them daring to fight any of Zero Wing's members.

What a joke. Both Owl Life and the 18 Silverlight Battle Array MTs had been defeated in a single move each. They weren't fools. Now that they knew they were no match for Zero Wing, they wouldn't stay and fight. Doing so would be nothing more than suicide.

Once Nature Hall's members fled, Violet Cloud turned her attention away and approached Aqua Rose.

"Big Sis Aqua, here are the items you stored in the Guild Warehouse," Violet Cloud told Aqua Rose, who wore a hesitant expression. After trading the equipment, she said, "Ah, right Guild Leader asked me to tell you this; Don't hold back! The Guild has your back!"

"Guild Leader..." For a moment, various emotions overwhelmed Aqua Rose.

When Twilight Echo's members heard Violet Cloud's message for her comrade, they couldn't help their envy.

A large Guild like Zero Wing was actually willing to start an all-out war with a superpower to support one of its Guild members. They had never even dared to imagine such a thing in the virtual gaming world. If they could join such a wonderful Guild, what more could they possibly ask for?

Once Aqua Rose regained her composure and re-equipped her weapons and equipment, her change stupefied Twilight Echo's members.

She had already felt incredibly powerful, but after replacing her weapons and equipment, she felt like a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon. Not only did she look beautiful, but she also radiated an intensely powerful aura. Although they couldn't tell the quality of her items since she had hidden the glow effects, her aura was even stronger than Dark Wave and Owl Life's.

So, this is the Guild Aqua joined? Dark Wave's shock was even greater than when he had watched Owl Life die.

The fact that Violet Cloud had killed Owl Life made it clear that Zero Wing had its own capable experts, but the equipment that had instantly elevated Aqua Rose's combat power, which could now rival Owl Life's, had an entirely different meaning.

"Let's leave this place and return to Windy City. Now that we've killed one of Nature Hall's Vice Guild Leaders, Nature Hall won't let this matter rest," Aqua Rose said as she glanced at Owl Life's corpse.

A Vice Guild Leader was one of a Guild's public faces. If they did not handle this incident's aftermath properly, Twilight Echo would have a difficult time leaving the Storm Empire.

"Rest assured, Big Sis Aqua. The Guild Leader has led a group to Storm City to discuss the situation with Nature Hall. I believe he will settle this matter very quickly," Violet Cloud said, giggling.

What?! They went to meet Nature Hall?! Dark Wave nearly jumped up in shock. Are they tired of living?!

Although Owl Life was only Nature Hall's Eighth Vice Guild Leader, one of the lowest-ranked Vice Guild Leaders in the Guild, he was still a Vice Guild Leader, yet as Violet Cloud had killed the man, Zero Wing had been heading to Nature Hall for negotiations. Zero Wing was clearly trying to provoke Nature Hall.

Zero Wing would likely have trouble getting out of this unscathed, much less negotiate a better situation for Twilight Echo.

Meanwhile, in the Storm Empire's Storm City, Shi Feng's party of six had arrived before Nature Hall's Residence.

As the Storm Empire's imperial capital, Storm City's player population even surpassed Black Dragon City's. Storm City had nearly 27,000,000 resident players, and its businesses were particularly prosperous.

The city's prosperity was due to the Storm Empire's ores. Plenty of ores and Gemstones, which other kingdoms and empires severely lacked, were produced within the empire's borders every day. Because of this production, a large number of foreign players visited the empire to trade and purchase items. Moreover, due to the abundance of ores, the Storm Empire's forging industry was exceedingly well-developed.

Shops that specialized in selling and crafting weapons and equipment could be found all over the city, and plenty of players wore the Advanced Forger's Insignia. Intermediate Forgers were a dime a dozen, as well. Not even White River City could say the same.

Moreover, as many as eight known Master Forgers also called the Storm Empire home. Among them, two were independent players. No other empire could dream of achieving the same at this stage of the game.

Purely in terms of weapon and equipment production, Storm City far surpassed White River City.

"Please notify the Guild Leader Nature that Star-Moon Kingdom's Zero Wing has come to discuss something with him," Shi Feng said as he approached the Nature Hall member stationed by the Residence's entrance.

"Alright, but I can't guarantee that our Guild Leader will meet with you," the player replied, disdainfully eyeing Shi Feng's party.

Normally, a large number of Guild representatives visited the Residence to meet with Nature Hall's Guild Leader, including representatives from the Storm Empire's first-rate Guilds. Even so, their Guild Leader usually ignored their requests. As for a Guild from a kingdom, even the Vice Guild Leaders would likely refuse the request.

The Nature Hall member then left to report the matter to his superior.

Meanwhile, a middle-aged man sat behind an office desk, flipping through the documents in his hand, in the Guild Leader's office within Nature Hall's Residence. Several Level 64 players stood beside this man, all of which were experts with multiple pieces of Epic Equipment Any ordinary expert would feel as if they stood in a cage of bloodthirsty beasts if they stood before this group.

Suddenly, a player entered the room, and upon seeing the players beside the middle-aged man, he couldn't help but shudder. However, he suppressed the fear in his heart and announced, "Guild Leader, there's a group of representatives from Zero Wing asking to meet with you. They're a Guild from Star-Moon Kingdom."

"A Guild from Star-Moon Kingdom?" Nature Manifestation raised his head as he listened to the subordinate's report, curiosity flashing in his eyes.

"Can't you see that the Guild Leader is busy? It's just a Guild from a small kingdom! Send them back to their countryside!" a robust man shouted.

However, as the subordinate began to turn and leave, the icy-cold goddess sitting beside Nature Manifestation received a message. As she read the message, her expression darkened.

"Wait!" the woman shouted.

"Qilin? What's wrong?" the robust man, who carried a gigantic scale shield, asked.

"I've just received news that Owl Life has been killed," the woman, Jade Qilin, softly replied.

"That brat got done in? Who did it? Was it Dark Wave? That shouldn't be possible!" The robust man was astonished. However, after recalling Twilight Echo's experts, he doubted that any of them could kill Owl Life.

"No. According to the reports, he was slain by an expert from Zero Wing..." Jade Qilin said. 

Chapter 2071 - Explanation?

"Zero Wing? Isn't that the Guild trying to meet with the Guild Leader?" The shield-carrying man frowned at Jade Qilin's reply. He then turned to the reporting Ranger, killing intent lacing his words. "These people sure have guts!"

A Vice Guild Leader was one of a Guild's public faces.

Guilds typically avoided killing each other's Vice Guild Leaders or Guild Leaders unless they wanted to shed all pretense, much less one of Nature Hall's Vice Guild Leaders.

"They dare visit us after killing our people? Zero Wing is too arrogant!" A gloomy youth sitting on one of the sofas in the office turned to Nature Manifestation and said, "Guild Leader, why don't you let my Evil Spirit Legion take care of them?

"Tooth, your Evil Spirit Legion is Nature Hall's blade! Using it to teach a Guild from a small kingdom a lesson is making a mountain out of a molehill," Jade Qilin said. "Moreover, Zero Wing must've realized the severity of its actions and come to make amends."

Hearing Jade Qilin's reasoning, the other players in the room nodded in agreement

The Evil Spirit Legion was Nature Hall's trump card, and it was a large part of the reason for Nature Hall's victory over the Nine-star Family. Zero Wing didn't even qualify to face this legion.

As Jade Qilin had said, Zero Wing must have realized how detrimental killing one of Nature Hall's Vice Guild Leaders was and was likely here to make amends for the mistake. How could a Guild from a small kingdom afford to provoke a superpower like Nature Hall, after all?

"Enough!" Nature Manifestation commanded with a low shout, silencing everyone in the room. He shifted his gaze toward the reporting Level 63 Ranger, saying, "Have someone lead Zero Wing's representatives to the reception room."

"Understood!" the Level 63 Ranger answered and bowed nervously.

A short moment later, one of the Nature Hall members guarding the Residence's entrance led Shi Feng's party to the Guild Hall's reception room, surprising many independent players and the Guild's members.

"Who are those people? The Guild Leader is actually willing to meet with them?"

Nowadays, Nature Hall's strength grew rapidly. Guilds often visited the Residence in hopes of allying with Nature Hall, but not even first-rate Guilds' Guild Leaders usually made it inside. And yet, Shi Feng and his companions followed a Guild member to a reception room. Why wouldn't they be surprised?

Everyone immediately began to chat about the identity of Shi Feng's party.

Some of the spies other major powers had planted within Nature Hall also launched investigations into Shi Feng's party. If Nature Manifestation were willing to speak with these individuals personally, this event was certainly worth looking into.

Nature Manifestation current sat on a sofa in Nature Hall's luxurious, top-floor reception room. Jade Qilin, Evil Tooth, and a few of the Guild's other upper echelons stood beside him, radiating dense killing intent as they watched Shi Feng's party enter the room. Based on their auras, it was clear that these players were experts with an immense amount of combat experience. In fact, these peak experts' auras were no weaker than the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's Martial Dragon, with a few of them being even stronger.

Twenty silver-armored Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights had also been stationed in the room. Not only were these Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights Level 64, but they also wore Level 60 Secret-Silver Set Equipment. Like well-trained soldiers, they stood in lines along the sides of the room, emitting a solemn aura.

Although the various large Guilds considered Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment top-tier at this stage of the game, fully equipping 20 players wasn't exactly impossible. However, these 20 MTs wore Level 60 Secret-Silver Set Equipment. Even a first-rate Guild would be fortunate to have two or three complete sets. Furthermore, players had crafted these MTs' equipment, which meant that Nature Hall was fully capable of crafting more.

Nature Hall's foundations were extraordinary.

"I've heard that Zero Wing has something to discuss with me? May I know what you wish to discuss?" Nature Manifestation watched Shi Feng's party enter the room through narrowed eyes. In a deep tone, he continued, "If this is about Vice Guild Leader Owl Life, you may return to your kingdom. I am not interested in listening to your reasoning."

As soon as Nature Manifestation was done speaking, the intensity of the 20 silver-armored MTs' auras skyrocketed, rapidly decreasing the temperature in the room.

Jade Qilin and Nature Hall's other upper echelons revealed sneers and pitying expressions.

Nature Manifestation typically let them handle matters related to Guilds from small kingdoms, considering the matters beneath him. However, he had insisted on meeting Zero Wing's representatives in person. They had been curious about his sudden change of heart.

Now, they understood.

Owl Life's death had enraged Nature Manifestation, so he wanted to speak with the culprits personally.

It had been a long time since they had seen Nature Manifestation so angry. The last time he had been this furious, he had removed three Guilds from God's Domain permanently. Those Guilds hadn't been small, but first- and second-rate Guilds.

Since this Guild had dared to enrage Nature Manifestation, Zero Wing would suffer a tragic ending.

Even if Zero Wing regretted killing Owl Life and wished to make amends, it was too late to change its fate. Once he was angry, no one could stop Nature Manifestation. Not even Nine-star Family had succeeded in this regard.

"Explanation? What explanation?" Shi Feng simply shrugged in response to Nature Manifestation's chilling gaze.

"What? After all you have done, are you seriously trying to deny your crime?" Jade Qilin said, sneering at Shi Feng's leisurely expression.

"Deny? Deny what?" Shi Feng turned toward Jade Qilin, frowning slightly.

"Is there even a need to say it!? You are responsible for killing our Vice Guild Leader Owl Life in the Nether Mine!" Jade Qilin hissed, her expression becoming even colder.

"Oh, that's what you're talking about?" Shi Feng asked as realization lit his features. Calmly, he continued, "That's right; we did that"

"You...!" Shi Feng's relaxed reply stunned Jade Qilin. She had assumed that he'd try to deny the fact. She certainly hadn't expected him to admit it so boldly. "It's good that you acknowledge it. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Everyone in the room from Nature Hill, including the 20 MTs, Evil Tooth, and the others who stood beside Jade Qilin, radiated dense killing intent. Their expressions made it clear that they were prepared to slaughter these visitors if Shi Feng said the wrong thing.

"What's there to talk about? Could Violet fail to kill this Vice Guild Leader, Owl Life?" Shi Feng asked in a strange tone.

The hall fell silent as every player from Nature Hall glared at Shi Feng as if they were about to devour him alive.

Arrogance!

They had never seen such arrogance!

Shi Feng simply didn't know how to spell the word 'death'!

After a short moment, Shi Feng returned his gaze to Nature Manifestation, calmly stating, "We are merely here to tell you one thing. Twilight Echo, which your Guild has targeted, is now under Zero Wing's protection!" 

Chapter 2072 - Repelling the Enemy with One Move

For a time, Nature Hall's members in the room were stunned into silence. They had no idea of how to respond to Shi Feng's declaration.

Not only had Zero Wing dared to kill one of their Vice Guild Leaders, but the Guild's representatives had also come to Nature Hall's Residence as if the death was of little significance. This Swordsman acted as if Zero Wing had killed an ant on the roadside, not a Vice Guild Leader. They couldn't help but marvel at Zero Wing's bravery.

Now, Zero Wing even announced its protection of Twilight Echo, Nature Hall's latest target.

This wasn't bravery. Zero Wing simply had a few loose screws.

Not even superpowers would display such arrogance before Nature Hall.

Jade Qilin even wondered if Shi Feng knew anything about God's Domain. Perhaps he had decided that, since his Guild was doomed and would be removed from the game, he might as well provoke Nature Hall on its doorstep.

"Hahaha! Good! Very good! It's been too long since our Guild has done anything outside of the empire! To think a small kingdom's Guild dares to act so pompously before us!" Evil Spirit revealed a grin as he stared coldly at Shi Feng, anger tainting his smile.

After chasing Nine-star Family out of the Storm Empire, the empire hadn't had any powers that dared to provoke Nature Hall. To secure its control in the empire and concentrate the Guild's resources, Nature Hall hadn't extended its influence past its borders. Hence, the outside world was unaware of Nature Hall's power.

There was also the fact that Shi Feng and the others had a few screws loose. Evil Spirit assumed that Zero Wing's members had spent too long in their own kingdom and didn't see the difference between the Storm Empire and Star-Moon Kingdom, thinking that they could walk through the empire unhindered.

Nature Manifestation's personal security team stared at Zero Wing's members as if they were dead men walking.

"He's infuriated Boss Spirit! That guy is definitely dead!"

"I bet these people won't get to leave Storm City alive! This is going to be entertaining!"

"That's right! Even if they kneel and beg for their lives, there's no saving them. They'll probably lose more than just one Level. Boss Spirit will use that item, and they'll lose three Levels with each death. If we send a tracking team after them as well, we can even send them back to Level 0."

Although attacking another player inside an NPC city was risky, players obtained more tools as they reached higher Levels.

As a result, killing other players inside NPC cities became increasingly easier.

This was especially true for a superpower like Nature Hall. Even slaughtering players in an imperial capital wouldn't be a problem for the Guild.

This was also why the various independent experts had been more hesitant to provoke God's Domain's powers. A single mistake could send them back to Level 0, after all.

Although the Zero Wing members present were experts and more difficult to defeat than independent experts, they were nothing to Nature Hall. Even a party of peak experts would fall in Storm City if they provoked Nature Hall, much less Shi Feng's party.

Nature Hall had acquired a Domain Treasure called Dead World from an ancient ruin. As long as a player supplied enough Magic Crystals, Dead World would create a domain that cut off communication with the outside world. Not even the city's NPC guards would receive a notification of the transgression if one attacked another player within the domain unless it was destroyed or released. Ordinary NPC guards wouldn't even notice the domain when standing next to it. Only the Tier 3 Guard Captains could see through the domain.

However, how rare were Tier 3 NPC Guard Captains?

There wasn't even one Tier 3 Guard Captain for ten patrol squads in an imperial capital like Storm City. Meanwhile, each patrol squad generally monitored three to five streets. If they activated the Domain Treasure in the proper location, the chances of encountering a Guard Captain were nearly zero.

While Nature Manifestation's 20 personal bodyguards whispered to each other, the Guild Leader, who had remained silent, raised his head and said, "So be it Originally, I had planned to send you off with a warning, but since you don't know how to repent for your actions or show proper respect, I'll remove you from God's Domain permanently! Then, I'll send someone to visit Zero Wing."

In response to his Guild Leader's declaration, Evil Spirit revealed a stone plate and sacrificed a large number of Magic Crystals to it. The color in the room then faded to a dull gray.

"What? You want to attack us?" Shi Feng asked as he sent a glance at Evil Spirit, who wore pitch-black leather armor.

"Are you afraid now?" Evil Spirit asked as he shot Shi Feng a playful look. "Unfortunately, it is too late for regret!"

He had thought that Nature Manifestation would wait until Shi Feng's group left the Residence before sending him to take action. He hadn't expected his Guild Leader to order an attack now. It was clear how truly furious Nature Manifestation was.

However, he didn't think the reaction was unreasonable.

Zero Wing's representatives were insufferably foolish. Even the King of Hell would laugh at their lunacy and imprison them for a few extra millennia.

"Afraid?" Shi Feng shook his head. "You're not strong enough for me to fear!"

"Crap! This is the first time I've met someone so stubborn! Everyone, attack! Kill him!" Evil Spirit commanded, his eyes twitching in anger.

The 20 silver-armored MTs surged toward Shi Feng and his companions.

Seeing this, Jade Qilin could not help but watch with a pitying gaze.

Zero Wing's members might have made it out of Storm City alive, but now, not only had they lost that hope, but they would pay an even greater price.

Although she did not know what gave Zero Wing's members so much confidence, she was certain that they'd die in this room. Moreover, players who died in the Dead World wouldn't lose a single Level, but three.

At their Level, leveling up required a lot of time and effort. Losing three Levels would be a huge setback.

Nature Manifestation's 20 personal bodyguards were more than enough to eliminate Shi Feng's party, not to mention the Guild's peak experts like herself.

Not only were these bodyguards Refinement Realm experts, but they also wielded the Silverlight Battle Array. When they activated the battle array, they could even kill peak experts. This was why Nature Manifestation's security team only had 20 players.

As Jade Qilin and the other peak experts expected their Guild Leader's bodyguards to annihilate Shi Feng's party, several sword lights flashed in the room.

Shadow blade!

As if every sword light had a life of its own, they agilely maneuvered through the bodyguards' defenses, striking the players directly. As if some colossal beast had slammed into them, a dozen or so bodyguards flew into the walls behind them, which cracked under the immense force.

"In the face of death? Blackwater, Starlink, and Miracle's armies failed to remove Zero Wing. What do you think a few Refinement Realm experts can accomplish?" Shi Feng asked as he sheathed Killing Ray and sat back on the sofa. He watched Nature Hall's upper echelons calmly as if nothing had happened. 

Chapter 2073 - Suppressing Nature Hall

Looking at the robust figures planted in the walls of the luxurious reception room, the unharmed members of Nature Manifestation's personal security team froze in shock. When they returned their gazes to Shi Feng, they wore tense expressions.

"What's going on?"

"What did he do?"

The security team members had failed to react to the attack. They had only seen Shi Feng swing his sword, and in the next moment, their companions had disappeared from next them and become wall decorations.

How is this possible? Evil Tooth was just as stunned to watch the bodyguards fly through the room.

He was very familiar with these bodyguards' strength. When they cooperated, they could even take down peak experts. The Silverlight Battle Array allowed them to share their senses, which greatly strengthened their defenses.

However, despite the bodyguards' enhanced defenses, Shi Feng had maneuvered his Skill past their defenses and dealt direct damage. His control with the Skill was frighteningly accurate.

"Good! No wonder why you dared to show such arrogance! Everyone, use your Magic Scrolls! Don't fight him at close range!" Evil Tooth commanded after snapping out of his daze. He then turned toward Jade Qilin and whispered, "Qilin, I need your help in a moment. This person is far stronger than I expected."

He admitted that even he could replicate Shi Feng's performance, but he was an Assassin, and the Assassin combat method allowed him to slay opponents that were far stronger than him.

"You're going to fight as well? Fine, leave it to me." Jade Qilin nodded.

Jade Qilin immediately began to chant an incantation. In the meantime, the rest of the bodyguards followed Evil Tooth's command and retrieved Tier 2 Magic Scrolls from their bags. These Magic Scrolls were extremely rare, some containing Control Spells, some holding AOE Spells, and others possessing single-target Spells.

They had originally prepared these Magic Scrolls to use against enemies when outnumbered, but against such a strong melee opponent like Shi Feng, they had no choice but to rely on attacking from afar with these Magic Scrolls.

In the next moment, flaming thorns, spears of light, and chains of sand flew toward Shi Feng, launching a wide array of Spells like a combined assault from a team of magical class players.

With how cramped the reception room was, dodging all of these Spells wasn't realistic. Most of the Spells were also impossible to block as they were AOE attacks.

"Die!" the bodyguards shouted.

However, before the multiple Spells bombarded Shi Feng, he lifted Killing Ray and slashed the empty space before him. Countless arcs of lightning appeared out of thin air, devouring everything in their path. Even the Tier 2 Spells vanished the moment they touched the lightning.

Lightning Edge!

Boom!

A massive explosion shook the reception room, its lavish decorations becoming nothing more than remnants. The bodyguards that had attacked Shi Feng had vanished from the room. The weapons and equipment pieces on the floor were the only indicator of their prior presence...

Over a dozen well-equipped MTs with over 180,000 HP had died, just like that.

In contrast, Shi Feng hadn't changed. He hadn't even moved from his original position, much less taken damage.

Shi Feng had executed only two moves, yet he had killed more than half of Nature Manifestation's famous security team. The security team's remaining members were crippled. Shi Feng's combat power was horrific.

How was he supposed to be a player? He was basically a monster that destroyed everything in his path!

Just as everyone assumed the battle was over, Jade Qilin, who hadn't stopped chanting, finally finished her Spells. She slammed the butt of her resplendent staff against the floor and commanded, "Seal!"

Three magic arrays appeared around her, each from a different Spell, yet they had appeared simultaneously and were of similar design as if they were a single Spell.

"A threefold, large-scale Spell?!" Alluring Summer, who stood behind Shi Feng, was surprised to see the arrays circling Jade Qilin.

Double-casting was an extremely difficult technique for most magical class experts, especially when casting Tier 2 Spells. Needless to say, triple-casting three Tier 2 Spells was even more difficult.

However, there were certain Spells in God's Domain that could only be used when casting multiple Spells. Generally, these were large-scale Spells that required multiple players to cast, yet Jade Qilin could cast one that typically needed three players by herself.

These large-scale Spells were far more powerful than individual Spells of the same tier.

The instant Jade Qilin's Spells took effect, five golden chains appeared around Shi, each containing sou卜shuddering power. Not even Grand Lords of the same level would dare to touch these chains. As if they had a life of their own, these chains launched at Shi Feng like anacondas.

"Let's see how he blocks this!"

The Nature Hall members sneered at Shi Feng as they watched.

Tier 2 large-scale Spell, Holy Chains!

This was Jade Qilin's ultimate Spell. Although it had a very long cast time and wasn't suited for one-on-one combat, it would exhibit tremendous power once cast. Jade Qilin had killed multiple peak experts with this move, earning the nickname 'Chain Killer' from the Storm Empire's players.

However, the expressions Nature Hall's members wore froze as they watched what happened next.

Shi Feng blocked the golden chains, which even Grand Lords feared, with his swords, a thunderous roar echoing throughout the room when his blades collided with the magical attack.

Despite the five chains' exceptional Strength, they couldn't reach Shi Feng. He deflected every incoming attack.

As Shi Feng defended himself against the magical chains, Evil Tooth appeared behind him in complete silence. After revealing himself, Evil Tooth thrust a glowing, crimson dagger toward Shi Feng's back.

Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Blood Shadow!

This single attack contained even more power than Jade Qilin's five chains combined.

"You've finally made your move."

Rather than panicking in the face of this sudden and well-timed attack, Shi Feng revealed a smile.

Sword's Transmigration!

Suddenly, the Twilight Blade and Killing Ray transformed into two streaks of light and wrapped around the five Holy Chains. As if they were under his control, the five chains then flew to intercept Evil Tooth's crimson dagger, the collision throwing sparks that temporarily blinded everyone in the room.

When the light faded, Nature Hall's members wore grim expressions. Evil Tooth's HP plummeted as he stared at Shi Feng in horror. Although he wanted to say something, he had already lost the last of his HP. With darkening vision, Evil Tooth collapsed to the floor.

Silence dominated the reception room.

Nature Manifestation's personal bodyguards had worked with two of the Guild's peak experts against one opponent, yet they were either dead or crippled, aside from Jade Qilin. Like an unshakable mountain, Shi Feng still stood where he had stated!

The Death World shattered the moment Evil Tooth died, and the room returned to its original state...

Chapter 2074 - Another Monster 

Silence!

Shock!

Horror!

Even though Dead World had been removed and the reception room had returned to its neutral state, Jade Qilin and the other Nature Hall peak experts felt stifled and overwhelmed.

Even Nature Manifestation, who had observed the fight in silence, wore a gloomy expression.

"Who are you?" Nature Manifestation asked Shi Feng.

Ordinary peak experts couldn't topple his personal bodyguards or Evil Tooth, the Evil Spirit Legion's commander. While he had considered the possibility of their defeat, he hadn't expected it to happen so easily.

He couldn't imagine anyone, aside from Domain Realm monsters, who would be capable of such a feat.

But how rare were Domain Realm experts in God's Domain?

Every Domain Realm expert that had ever existed in the virtual gaming world was accounted for, and they were all responsible for shaking the community to its core.

However, based on his information, Shi Feng's name wasn't on that list

"Black Flame," Shi Feng stated calmly.

"Black Flame? Zero Wing's Guild Leader?" Shock colored Jade Qilin's face when she heard Shi Feng's reply. "But how?"

Black Flame wasn't unknown to Nature Hall. After all, he ranked among the top ten on the God's Domain Expert List. He was a peak expert that had reached the Void Realm, and one of the top peak experts in the game.

But at the end of the day, that's all he was, a peak expert Although they earned the various superpowers' attention, they weren't powerful enough to threaten a superpower's very existence. Every superpower had plenty of peak experts in its ranks.

No matter how she looked at it, however, no peak expert should be capable of the combat power Shi Feng had displayed.

"What an excellent scheme. So, you've deliberately hidden your strength all this time?" Nature Manifestation asked. Unexpected, he was actually smiling.

However, knowing their Guild Leader's personality, Jade Qilin and her companions knew Nature Manifestation's smile wasn't an indication of his good mood. Rather, it was a result of his anger reaching a tipping point.

The various superpowers in God's Domain viewed every Domain Realm expert as immensely important. Rather, these experts were impossible to ignore. Domain Realm experts were strategic weapons, and as players reached higher Levels, the threat these experts posed to superpowers would grow. Hence, superpowers took considerable precautions against every Domain Realm expert they encountered.

If Shi Feng had revealed himself as a Domain Realm expert early on, the various superpowers would've paid more attention to Zero Wing. The Guild's name would've likely joined the superpowers' blacklists, regardless of its developmental state. Some superpowers might have even extinguished Zero Wing immediately to save themselves from future trouble.

As for Shi Feng recently reaching the Domain Realm, it wasn't likely. Reaching the Domain Realm proved that one transcended the limits of humanity. Despite the various super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds accumulating resources and knowledge over many generations, each superpower had, at most, nurtured only a handful of Domain Realm experts in each generation. It was easy to imagine how difficult reaching the Domain Realm truly was.

In other words, Shi Feng must have hidden his strength from the public deliberately to avoid attracting too much attention. Now that he was satisfied with his personal strength and that of his Guild, he wanted to use Nature Hall as a stepping stone to show off his power.

That would explain why would Shi Feng was willing to make an enemy of Nature Hall just to help Twilight Echo, a Guild he was barely connected to.

"Guild Leader, should we request Senior Fan's presence?" Jade Qilin whispered to her Guild Leader.

Although Domain Realm experts were extremely rare, Nature Hall had its own collection of them. Senior Fan was one example. Moreover, he had spent most of his time in the Storm Empire. If they notified him, he would soon return to the Residence.

If Senior Fan returned, with the help of Nature Hall's other peak experts, they could ensure that Shi Feng's party didn't leave the Residence with their lives. After all, this was Nature Hall's main headquarters.

After Jade Qilin posed her question, the three imposing men beside her directed their killing intent toward Shi Feng.

A mere up-and-coming Guild like Zero Wing actually dared to use Nature Hall as a stepping stone. This was unacceptable.

Suddenly, the reception room's doors flew open, and a group of 50-plus silver-armored experts charged in and surrounded Shi Feng's party.

Although they weren't Refinement Realm experts like Nature Manifestation's personal bodyguards, they could rival such experts with their Silverlight Battle Array.

"What? You still insist on fighting?" Shi Feng asked as he calmly watched Nature Hall's members from his seat, showing no signs of anxiety or concern.

He wouldn't have dared to visit Nature Hall's Residence before he had reached the Domain Realm and acquired the Twilight Blade. This was, after all, a superpower's headquarters, and Nature Hall would have plenty of methods to deal with invaders. The Guild would also have other Domain Realm experts nearby.

At this stage of the game, Shi Feng's fight against Martial Dragon on Thunder Island wasn't a proper indicator of Domain Realm experts' prowess. During that battle, he had had the advantage in terms of Basic Attributes and Skills, and since Martial Dragon had only been a Tier 1 player, the man's weak physique had prevented him from fully exhibiting his strength. To put it simply, players' physiques at that time had restricted Domain Realm experts.

Shi Feng hadn't gotten a clear idea of how strong Domain Realm experts were in that fight, but once he had reached the same Realm, he understood these experts' true power.

With a Tier 1 player's physique, Domain Realm experts would be limited to 50% of their true combat power at most. However, Void Realm experts would be able to display their full combat power. It was only natural that Domain Realm experts back then had only seemed slightly more powerful than peak experts.

At this stage of the game, however, not only had Domain Realm experts' physiques greatly improved, but their weapon and equipment standards had also increased. A superpower's Domain Realm expert likely wore at least three or four pieces of Epic Equipment, possibly even a Fragmented Legendary item. Superpowers had frightening resources and expansive territory. Encountering a superpower that owned one or two Fragmented Legendary items at this stage of the game wouldn't be odd.

As soon as Shi Feng was done speaking, Fire Dance, Cola, Alluring Summer, Shadow Blade, and Ye Wumian, who stood behind him, stepped forward and released their auras.

As if a volcano had erupted in the room, an intense energy washed over its occupants, and the expressions that Nature Hall's members wore changed instantly.

Fire Dance and her comrades felt like primordial beasts that had just awoken from a long slumber. The pressure they radiated was painfully stifling, particularly Fire Dance's aura.

Could she be another Domain Realm expert? The thought drifted through Jade Qilin and her companions' minds, shuddering at the idea.

Zero Wing was merely a small kingdom's Guild. It wasn't even a superpower, yet it had two Domain Realm experts. Since when were Domain Realm experts so common?

If Shi Feng could hear these peak experts' thoughts, he wouldn't have been surprised. Among the five players he had brought with him, only Fire Dance held a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. She also had her own Bloodline and six Epic items. In Zero Wing, Fire Dance's equipment standards were only second to his. Moreover, she was only a step away from the Truth Realm and had already mastered multiple Advanced Combat Techniques. In her current state, she could definitely contend with Domain Realm experts. 

Chapter 2075 - Miscalculation

Although Jade Qilin and Nature Hall's other peak experts had intended to act, they couldn't help but freeze the moment they felt Fire Dance's oppressive aura.

"Guild Leader, are we still going to fight them?" Jade Qilin could not help but ask as she turned to look at Nature Manifestation, her expression hesitant.

One Domain Realm expert was already extremely difficult to defeat. Now that Fire Dance, who felt like another Domain Realm expert, had joined the fray, she had to take this situation more seriously.

Ordinary players might not realize the importance of one or two Domain Realm experts in a Guild, but as one of Nature Hall's upper echelons, she was very clear of the implications. This was no longer a matter of Shi Feng or Fire Dance's personal strength, but of Zero Wing's foundations. Instead, it was a matter of Zero Wing's Guild foundations.

If Zero Wing had only possessed a single Domain Realm expert, it could've been explained away as luck. It would prove nothing regarding Zero Wing's foundation. However, the fact that Zero Wing had at least two Domain Realm experts couldn't be shrugged off in the same way. Domain Realm experts weren't as common as cabbages.

If Zero Wing truly had two Domain Realm experts, the Guild wasn't as simple as everyone assumed.

"Qilin, you're overthinking this. Her aura doesn't prove that she's a Domain Realm monster. She could simply have absurdly high Basic Attributes. Zero Wing has no background, so it's lucky enough to have one Domain Realm expert. How could it possibly have two? And such a young one at that," a solemn man with a scar across his face spoke up.

Listening to the man's reasoning, Nature Hall's members relaxed, releasing more than half of their anxiety. No one doubted this man's words. He was Deep Thunder, Nature Hall's First Vice Guild Leader and one of the Guild's main support pillars.

He was also one of the top ten experts on the God's Domain's Secret Experts List.

The Secret Pavilion had two God's Domain Experts Lists. One recorded the top 1,000 experts with the most attention- grabbing battle records. The second was a secret list, which only superpowers could purchase.

The Secret Experts List only contained 100 names. However, these players weren't ranked by their battle records, but based on the combat standards they had revealed. One had to be a Void Realm expert before the Secret Pavilion would even consider them for the list.

Any peak expert that could rank on the Secret Experts List was, at most, a step away from the Domain Realm. Those that ranked among the top ten were practically pounding against the edge of this Realm. They only needed a slight push to reach the Domain Realm. Deep Thunder was one of these experts.

Although none of Nature Hall's experts in the room had reached the Domain Realm yet, Deep Thunder was undoubtedly the most knowledgeable about it

Since Deep Thunder was certain that Fire Dance was not a Domain Realm expert, there was a 90% chance that he was correct.

"Thunder is right. Everyone needs to calm down. Although I don't know how this little girl from Zero Wing has such frightening Basic Attributes, Zero Wing is 100 years too early if it thinks it can stroll into Nature Hall's Residence with such an attitude!" Nature Manifestation commented, backing up Deep Thunder. He flashed Shi Feng a piercing glare before commanding, "Summon Senior Fan and the Evil Spirit Legion members immediately! Lock down the Residence! I want to see how capable these Zero Wing representatives truly are!"

Although Shi Feng had displayed astonishing combat power, Nature Hall wasn't a pushover.

Nature Hall had gone to great lengths to recruit Senior Fan and convince him to protect the Guild. The elder had been a Domain Realm monster for decades, and his combat standards were far above Shi Feng's, who, at most, had only entered the Domain Realm within the past few years. Senior Fan also wore the best equipment available in the game, and the Evil Spirit Legion was one of Nature Hall's trump cards.

Although the Evil Spirit Legion only had 100 members, every member was a Refinement Realm expert or better. Even the weakest among them had mastered three combat techniques, and including the Silverlight Battle Array, they could even defeat Domain Realm experts. The Evil Spirit Legion was also why Nature Hall even dared to provoke super-first-rate Guilds.

However, the moment Nature Manifestation issued the order, Fire Dance's group moved, charging straight toward the Guild Leader.

Taking the lead, Cola and Ye Wumian dashed forward like two Tyrannosaurus Rexes. When the reinforcing security team members collided with the two MTs, they flew backward as if they had been hit by a truck, their tight defensive formation shattering instantly.

Alluring Summer and Shadow Sword followed the two MTs closely. Alluring Summer sent at least one player flying with each Spell she cast, while Shadow Sword forced multiple players to stumble back with each slash. These two easily repelled any security team members that approached from the sides. Rather than a battle, this looked like adults toying with children...

Taking advantage of the chaos, Fire Dance blew past the security team's blockade and arrived before Nature Manifestation. "Don't think you can get through me that easily!"

Deep Thunder bellowed, swinging his gigantic, two-handed battle axe with a solemn expression, leaving no room for Fire Dance to dodge.

Tier 2 Skill, Earth Bombardment!

Peng!

Not only was Earth Bombardment an AOE attack that amplified his Strength, but it could also significantly reduce players' Movement Speed when he struck. This was the trademark Tier Skill of the Magic Warrior hidden class. The move could only be blocked, not dodged. In addition, the Magic Warrior class was a specialized Advanced Class for Berserkers, using magic to strengthen the user's body.

However, Deep Thunder's expression froze when his attack landed.

Fire Dance's flimsy short sword had actually stopped his humongous axe's descent Not only had Fire Dance remained stable, but she also retained every point of her HP...

Before Deep Thunder could swing his battle axe again, Fire Dance's Thousand Transformations slithered toward the Berserker's neck with an utterly unpredictable attack trajectory.

Advanced Combat Technique, Illusory Snake!

"Scram!" Deep Thunder shouted as he activated Whirlwind Slash to defend himself.

Boom!

When short sword and battle axe collided, a sharp clang echoed throughout the room.

A moment later, Deep Thunder, who prided himself on his Strength, stumbled three steps back, staring at Fire Dance with an incredulous look.

While he had recognized Fire Dance's amazing Basic Attributes, he hadn't expected them to be so high.

How does she have so much Strength?

Deep Thunder wasn't the only one the situation surprised. Jade Qilin, who cast Spells from the side, glanced over in horror when she noticed Deep Thunder stumble.

In God's Domain, there was a major difference between one-handed weapons' Strength and that of two-handed weapons. This was why most Berserker players chose two-handed weapons. Two-handed weapons could make full use of Berserker's high Strength.

However, despite being an Assassin, Fire Dance exhibited greater Strength with a short sword than Deep Thunder. This unraveled everything Jade Qilin thought she knew about God's Domain. Moreover, Deep Thunder wore three pieces of Epic Equipment, wielded an Epic Weapon, and the rest of his equipment was comprised of Level 60 Dark-Gold items. She couldn't imagine how an Assassin could block one of his attacks with a one-handed sword.

After sending Deep Thunder backward, Fire Dance abruptly vanished.

Void Steps!

By the time anyone could react, Fire Dance had reappeared before Nature Manifestation, holding her Thousand Transformations against the Guild Leader's throat. As a Cursemancer, Fire Dance held Nature Manifestation's life in her hands.

Seeing this, Nature Hall's members paused with gloomy expressions.

When Nature Manifestation looked up at Fire Dance, his countenance was ashen.

Fire Dance's group had only moved five seconds ago, yet they had already gotten past more than 50 Refinement Realm and better experts, threatening his life. Not even a Domain Realm expert could perform such a feat. 

Chapter 2076 - Do You Need a Doctor?

When Fire Dance took Nature Manifestation captive, Nature Hall's members stayed their hands as they hatefully glared at the female Assassin. At the same time, though, a hint of fear could be seen in their eyes.

"What should we do now, Vice Guild Leader?" Jade Qilin asked Deep Thunder quietly, frowning as she watched Fire Dance play with her short sword from behind Nature Manifestation.

She didn't have enough authority in this situation to make a decision.

Nature Manifestation was the Guild's symbol. If they let him die, it would humiliate their Guild.

However, Fire Dance currently had control over Nature Manifestation's life and death. Even though peak experts like Jade Qilin could cross the six-yard distance in less than half a second, half a second would be more than enough time to kill their Guild Leader for someone with Fire Dance's Strength and speed.

Deep Thunder said nothing in response to Jade Qilin's question. He didn't know what to do, either.

Zero Wing was far more terrifying than he had imagined.

If Fire Dance were truly a Domain Realm expert, this situation, at most, would've surprised him, but the problem lay in the fact that she wasn't one, which horrified him.

After their brief clash, he was certain that the female Assassin had only reached the Refinement Realm, although she wasn't your typical Refinement Realm expert. However, he couldn't articulate how she differed from the average Refinement Realm expert Regardless, her combat standard could, at best, rival Flowing Water Realm experts. She was almost nothing compared to an expert like him, who was only a small step away from reaching the Domain Realm.

Yet, despite her inferior combat standards, Fire Dance could suppress him in a confrontation. Moreover, she had done so effortlessly. She had even taken Nature Manifestation captive in an instant Although the Guild Leader was only an ordinary peak expert, this outcome was shocking.

Not even the Refinement Realm experts understood this, much less the ordinary experts.

Peak experts were known as such because they stood at the peak of God's Domain. Even Domain Realm experts would struggle to threaten a peak expert's life, yet Fire Dance had done so effortlessly.

He couldn't imagine what weapons and equipment would be necessary to allow an expert, who had reached the Flowing Water Realm at best, to command even greater combat power than Domain Realm monsters.

However, that wasn't the worst of it Zero Wing's other representatives were obviously only Refinement Realm experts, but they had displayed combat power that could easily rival peak experts. Not even super-first-rate Guilds were likely capable of nurturing such high-quality Refinement Realm experts.

After silence reigned over the room for a short moment, Nature Manifestation discarded his shock and turned to glare at Shi Feng.

"Do you think that I'll simply allow Nature Hall to let Zero Wing off the hook just because you've captured me?" Nature Manifestation asked, sneering. "Don't be foolish. It is just one level and one piece of equipment. I can afford the loss. If you go through with this, however, Zero Wing won't have the power to endure Nature Hall's wrath."

The strength Shi Feng's party had displayed had surprised him, but at the end of the day, an individual's strength was nothing compared to a Guild's. Regardless of how powerful this Zero Wing party was, it didn't change anything about the difference between Zero Wing and Nature Hall.

"That's right You should think this through carefully, Guild Leader Black Flame. If you do this, there will be no saving the relationship between our Guilds," Jade Qilin said in an attempt to persuade Shi Feng. "I believe you are aware of Nature Hall's streng什i. In the end, only Zero Wing will suffer."

As Jade Qilin finished speaking, Nature Hall's members calmed their fears and revealed confident smiles.

They had been stunned after witnessing the combat power Shi Feng's party commanded, but after giving the matter some thought, they realized that Shi Feng's party would only sign their death warrants if they killed Nature Manifestation.

Zero Wing was merely a kingdom's Guild. Regardless of its battle records, it was still far weaker than Nature Hall. Zero Wing could not afford to endure Nature Hall's wrath at all.

As a Guild Leader, Shi Feng must have realized this.

Unless Shi Feng insisted on dragging Zero Wing down with him, he wouldn't let Fire Dance kill the other Guild Leader.

Even Storm City's independent players wouldn't believe that Shi Feng would do such a thing, let alone these Guild upper echelons.

As the smiles Nature Hall's members wore spread with delight, Shi Feng, who watched from his seat, returned the grins and said, "What you say is true. There is a big difference between Zero Wing and Nature Hall, but what if Nature Hall lost Storm City?"

"Lost Storm City? Is this fellow dreaming?"

"What a joke! How could our Guild possibly lose Storm City?"

Nature Hall's members began to laugh, thinking Shi Feng had gone mad. Storm City was Nature Hall's main headquarters. Not even a superpower could dethrone the Guild in its own city, much less Zero Wing.

"You're referring to the Auction Arena battle, right?" Nature Manifestation laughed. "While I understand your thinking, that is a battle of experts and resources. Zero Wing's experts might be impressive, but do you really think Zero Wing can outmatch Nature Hall's resources?"

Superpowers like Nature Hall had long since investigated the Auction Arena's rules. In this competition, resources were far more important than military might Hence, all of the various superpowers fervently collected Epic materials while they had time before the Auction Arena competition began. Compared to Nature Hall, Zero Wing's material collection speed was useless. How could Zero Wing possibly hope to defeat Nature Hall in a contest for Storm City's Auction House?

However, as Nature Manifestation finished his statement, Shi Feng revealed a dark-gold crystal from his bag. The crystal was unusually eye-catching in this room, and it drew everyone's gaze.

While most of the reception room's occupants didn't understand why Shi Feng had revealed this crystal, Nature Manifestation froze when he saw it.

"You... How did you get that?" Nature Manifestation could not help but ask.

Nature Manifestation's sudden change of expression even confused Fire Dance and her companions, let alone Nature Hall's members. No one knew why the Nature Hall's almighty Guild Leader would seem scared of a single crystal.

"Do you really need to ask?" Shi Feng said, revealing a faint smile. "I am the player responsible for activating Thunder Axe City, of course. Is it so strange that I have this crystal?"

The item in his hand was none other than the Thunder Axe Crystal, which was capable of teleporting a large number of players to Thunder Axe City. It also normally cost 5,000 Thunder Axe City Contribution Points.

"You activated Thunder Axe City? That... That is impossible! How could you be responsible!?" Nature Manifestation stared at Shi Feng with an incredulous look.

Thunder Axe City was a super-large-scale neutral city, and after its activation, it had quickly become a hub for many superpowers, including Nature Hall. Countless first- and second-rate Guilds visited the city, as well. The neutral city was so popular due to its abundant resources, especially incredibly rare Epic materials. Thunder Axe City was practically a treasure trove.

However, traveling to and developing in Thunder Axe City was quite difficult. Due to its terrain and environment, not even expert players could remain in the city for long.

Even with its sturdy foundations, Nature Hall could only afford to send 300 experts to develop in the city long-term. However, not only did Shi Feng possess the Thunder Axe Crystal, which one could purchase from the Thunder Axe Temple and provided convenient transport to the city, but he was also responsible for Thunder Axe City's activation.

However, when Nature Manifestation recalled the group of Giant players Zero Wing possessed and the Thunder Axe Crystal in Shi Feng's hand, which no player should be able to obtain at this stage of the game, he knew that Shi Feng's claim was likely true.

"Guild Leader Nature, what's wrong? You don't look too good. Should I call a doctor?" Shi Feng asked, chuckling at Nature Manifestation's deathly pale expression. 

Chapter 2077 - Nature Hall Submits

As Shi Feng's calm voice continuously echoed throughout the room, Nature Manifestation's expression twisted into something ugly. Traces of fear flashed in his eyes, stupefying Nature Hall's members.

Nature Manifestation stood at the very top of the Storm Empire. A single word from him could decide the life or death of the empire's various Guilds. He was also a bona fide peak expert. He could lead Nature Hall to become an overlord in God's Domain in the future!

Yet, now...

Nature Hall's members weren't the only ones surprised. The Guild Leader's reaction confused Fire Dance and her companions. Nature Manifestation had reacted calmly even when Fire Dance had taken him captive, yet now, he seemed more afraid of Shi Feng's few sentences.

Why wouldn't they be surprised?

"What do you want?" Nature Manifestation asked as he watched Shi Feng, afraid.

If he had only seen Shi Feng as a Domain Realm expert before, he viewed the man as a monster, capable of shaking Nature Hall's very foundations, after learning that this Swordsman had pioneered Thunder Axe City and acquired the Thunder Axe Crystal.

Most people were still unaware of Thunder Axe City. Even in Nature Hall, only the Guild's upper echelons and the experts that had visited the city knew about its splendor.

According to their understanding, Thunder Axe City should've activated more than two weeks ago. The various superpowers, however, had only discovered the city nine days ago.

When Nature Manifestation thought about how Shi Feng could send a large number of players to the city with the Thunder Axe Crystal and the man's status as Thunder Axe City's pioneer, he couldn't help but shudder.

Epic materials were even more important than expert players in the Auction Arena's battles.

Zero Wing's members had already proven their combat power. If the Guild also had a wealth of Epic materials, Zero Wing could pose a significant threat to Nature Hall in the upcoming Auction Arena contest.

Meanwhile, Deep Thunder, Jade Qilin, and Nature Hall's other upper echelons stated at Shi Feng in fear.

They had counted themselves fortunate to send 300 experts to Thunder Axe City, but Shi Feng was actually responsible for activating the neutral city...

"Nature Hall is so powerful. How could Zero Wing every hope to compare?" Shi Feng laughed. He then said, "We are only here to help Twilight Echo learn whether or not it can withdraw from the Storm Empire in safety. You shouldn't overthink the situation, Guild Leader Nature."

"Fine. Out of respect for Zero Wing, our issue with Twilight Echo stops here. As long as Twilight Echo leaves the Storm Empire, Nature Hall will let it leave," Nature Manifestation answered through gritted teeth.

Even Nature Hall would struggle to take out experts like Fire Dance, Cola, and the others. If Zero Wing dispatched a large number of experts and relied on the Epic materials it gained from Thunder Axe City, he wasn't confident that Nature Hall could hold Storm City. After all, Thunder Axe City had a frightening supply of Epic resources available.

If Zero Wing took control of Storm City's Auction House, Nature Hall's development would be severely affected. Even if Zero Wing failed, it could still force Nature Hall to dispatch more forces than planned, which would, in turn, ruin the Guild's plans to claim other cities' Auction Houses.

As Nature Hall's Guild Leader, Nature Manifestation couldn't sacrifice the Guild's larger plans just to punish Twilight Echo. Moreover, he suspected that Zero Wing had far more trump cards than what it had revealed in this reception room. Of course, this was only his conjecture. The fact that Shi Feng had pioneered Thunder Axe City was already frightening. Nature Manifestation couldn't think of what could be even more impressive than that.

When Nature Hall's reinforcements heard their Guild Leader's decision, their jaws dropped; they couldn't believe what they had just heard.

"Just who is this Black Flame?"

Nature Hall's members grew more curious about Shi Feng. This man had actually forced their Guild Leader to compromise with just a few words. No one would believe this if they told them.

Nature Manifestation had even chased the Nine-star Family out of the Storm Empire. How could he possibly submit to a Guild from a small kingdom?

"Guild Leader Nature is quite open-minded. If there are no other problems, we'll be taking our leave," Shi Feng said with a smile. Standing, he turned and left the tattered reception room alongside Fire Dance and the others.

Shi Feng had never intended to steal Storm City's Auction House. He had simply wanted to scare Nature Manifestation.

There were currently tons of problems in White River City that required his attention. With Zero Wing's resources and experts, the Guild could, at most, contest for one city's Auction House. Only, Nature Manifestation did not know this.

Although Thunder Axe City had an abundance of Epic materials, the neutral city had only activated around two weeks ago. There were far too few players in the city for it to exhibit its true potential. Moreover, Nature Manifestation thought too highly of Shi Feng's position as the city's pioneer. Even if Shi Feng had secured a 2-star Smithy, he wouldn't acquire as many Epic Materials as Guilds raiding Team Dungeons.

If Nature Manifestation realized this, he'd faint with anger and try to fight Zero Wing to the death.

As Shi Feng and his subordinates made their way to the door, the Nature Hall players guarding the door stepped aside to let them through after receiving a signal from Nature Manifestation.

Jade Qilin and the other upper echelons only returned their attention to their Guild Leader after Zero Wing's party had left the Guild Hall.

"Guild Leader, are we really going to give up Twilight Echo?" Jade Qilin asked. "If we do this, news of this incident will spread throughout the empire."

"So be it. In any case, keeping a tight lid on this is impossible," Nature Manifestation grumbled as he massaged his temples. Annoyed, he continued, "I never would've thought that Zero Wing was responsible for activating the city that has caused such a sensation among the various superpowers. We'll likely see a difficult period in God's Domain soon. You should begin to prepare for it."

"Understood!" Jade Qilin nodded, fully understanding Nature Manifestation's intentions.

He had assumed that the first Auction Arena competition would be an exclusive playground for the game's superpowers, but now that Zero wing had revealed itself as a potential competitor, the various superpowers' plans were ruined.

Nobody would've imagined that Zero Wing would be the cause of the situation plaguing the various superpowers.

After Shi Feng's party left Storm City, news of Nature Hall abandoning its harassment of Twilight Echo quickly reached the empire's various powers.

"What? Nature Hall gave up on Twilight Echo? But why?"

"What kind of Guild is Zero Wing?"

For a time, this matter caused an uproar in the Storm Empire.

Nobody would've thought that Nature Hall would stop targeting Twilight Echo out of respect for Zero Wing. Every power in the empire was immediately curious about Zero Wing.

Meanwhile, news of this matter also reached Twilight Echo's Residence in Windy City.

"What did you just say? Nature Hall has given up on us because of Zero Wing and recalled its forces?" Dark Wave was stunned when he heard his subordinate's report, unable to believe the news. 

Chapter 2078 - Twilight Echo Shaken

When Twilight Echo received the news of Nature Hall's withdrawal, silence reigned of the Guild Leader's office. The dozen or so Guild upper echelons in the room didn't know how to react to this development.

"Nature Hall gave up? But why?"

"What did Zero Wing's members do?"

Nature Hall had intended to use Twilight Echo as an example to stabilize its rule in the Storm Empire and expand its influence past the empire's borders. Nature Hall had been adamant on destroying Twilight Echo.

They had been discussing their safe withdrawal from the Storm Empire and their defense against Nature Hall, but after nearly an hour, their despair had only intensified. The difference between their two Guilds was too massive. At this point, Nature Hall only needed a fraction of its strength to remove Twilight Echo from God's Domain.

Even with Zero Wing's help, they didn't think that they could withstand Nature Hall. Zero Wing was, after all, only on par with a first-rate Guild.

Yet, Nature Hall had unexpectedly withdrawn its assault.

They couldn't help but wonder how Zero Wing had accomplished the feat.

A powerful background?

A transaction?

They considered many possibilities, but none seemed reliable or possible. However, it was an inescapable fact that Zero Wing had convinced Nature Hall to leave Twilight Echo in peace.

Dark Wave turned to Aqua Rose, a myriad of emotions overwhelming his heart.

When Violet Cloud had informed Owl Life that Zero Wing intended to protect Twilight Echo, Dark Wave had assumed it had been Zero Wing's way of taking a stand against Nature Hall. He hadn't actually believed that her Guild could protect his. Looking at it now, however, it seemed that Violet Cloud had meant what she had said.

This was the Storm Empire's overlord they were talking about!

Although he did not know how Zero Wing had stopped Nature Hall, its success in doing so proved the Guild's strength.

When Aqua Rose had left Twilight Echo to join an insignificant, upstart Guild from some backwater kingdom, many of the Guild's members had mocked her for her foolishness. They had all thought that she was stupid. If she hadn't been so stubborn, she would've kept her position as an Honorary Elder and had access to plenty of opportunities to display her talent. Twilight Echo had been a veteran first-rate Guild for decades, not a force a small Guild without a background could compare to.

Who would've thought that the small, insignificant Guild Aqua Rose had joined would grow to become so powerful?

Not only was Zero Wing Star-Moon Kingdom's overlord, but it also commanded the strength of a first-rate Guild. Now, it had saved Twilight Echo from the brink of destruction, convincing a superpower like Nature Hall to abandon its plans. After this series of events, Dark Wave couldn't fathom how powerful Zero Wing truly was, despite the fact that he led a veteran first- rate Guild.

If news of this reached Twilight Echo's Guild Elders, the old fellows and company representatives that had mocked and ridiculed Aqua Rose would likely die from embarrassment. They had all played a major part in dismissing her from her position as Honorary Elder.

Due to this incident and her position in Zero Wing, Aqua Rose would have considerable influence in Twilight Echo from now on. The Guild might even follow her whims.

Dark Wave wasn't the only one to think this. Every upper echelon in the office realized the implications of today's events. Their views of Aqua Rose had utterly changed.

Aside from her joy, Aqua Rose was stunned, as well. She hadn't imagined that Shi Feng would actually be able to stop Nature Hall.

Shortly after, Violet Cloud relayed Shi Feng's latest message to Twilight Echo's upper echelons, informing them that as long as the Guild left the Storm Empire, Nature Hall wouldn't take further action against it. The young woman then left Twilight Echo's Residence, returning to Star-Moon Kingdom with her team. As for Aqua Rose, she only intended to return after dealing with a few matters with her old Guild.

Twilight Echo's upper echelons eagerly hoped that Aqua Rose would stay for some time.

Twilight Echo was going to leave the Storm Empire and find another kingdom to continue its development. This meant that it would have to deal with the overlord of whichever kingdom they chose. If they had the help of a powerhouse like Zero Wing, settling in their new home would be far easier.

Meanwhile, news of the events between Nature Hall and Twilight Echo soon reached God's Domain's many superpowers. Nature Hall was one of them, and even though this incident was a small matter in the other superpowers' eyes, it was still necessary to watch the situation.

Ore Empire, Crimson Flame Fortress:

"How can Nature Hall be so dumb? It gave up such a good opportunity to stabilize its position in the Storm Empire just because of Zero Wing? Did Zero Wing offer the Guild some massive bribe?" Jing Yang, who stood inside Blackwater's Vice Guild Leader's office, ranted his confusion after reading the latest message.

Nature Hall had been developing rapidly lately, and it easily ranked among the top ten fastest developing superpowers in God's Domain. Many veteran super-first-rate Guilds were even starting to feel threatened.

Yet, out of respect for Zero Wing, the Guild had abandoned its plans. It was truly surprising.

"Not bad. It seems Zero Wing is quite capable, after all. It's no wonder why it rejected my offer of cooperation," Xuanwu Chisa said, a charming smile forming on her face.

"Vice Guild Leader, you think too highly of Zero Wing. I don't know what benefits it offered Nature Hall to settle this matter, but Zero Wing hasn't solved its predicament in White River City. Ignoring the several powers that desire the city's Auction House, Zero Wing has its hands full with its own internal problems," Jing Yang said. "Starlink has recently invested a lot of capital into hindering Zero Wing. It is even trying to poach Zero Wing's upper echelons and core members by offering to triple their current salaries. Starlink has also begun to claim commissions meant for Zero Wing by offering lower prices, slowly chipping away at Zero Wing's financial situation. I doubt it will be more than a month before Zero Wing crumbles in on itself."

Larger Guilds had both advantages and disadvantages. When a Guild had a low member count, its daily expenditures were relatively small. Hence, its finances were easy to handle. However, as a Guild grew, it would face more difficult financial problems. Including hostile corporations' intervention, a Guild's financial problems could become even more challenging.

Hence, although Zero Wing seemed to have grown quite powerful, it had acquired new weaknesses.

Zero Wing had still been a relatively small Guild without a headquarters in the real world, and as a result, it hadn't had to contend with major expenditures. Its size had rendered hostile corporations' interference ineffective, but things had changed. Now, not only had Zero Wing purchased Ouroboros's main headquarters, but it had become even larger than Ouroboros at its peak. Its monthly expenditure was easily dozen of times larger than Ouroboros's had been.

This was why the various first-rate Guilds feared the various superpowers. Not only could a superpower crush a first-rate Guild under its military might, but it could also launch an economic assault.

Meanwhile, after Shi Feng's party returned to Star-Moon Kingdom's White River City, he sent Fire Dance and the others to continue their Team Dungeon raids and collect as many Epic materials as possible to prepare for the Auction Arena.

It's about time that I deal with my Elemental Cores.

Shi Feng grinned as he opened his bag to inspect the Elemental Cores within. He then altered his appearance using the Demon Mask and visited White River City's Teleportation Hall. Spending 4 Gold, 30 Silver, he teleported to the distant Sea of Illusion. 

Chapter 2079 - Sea Tribe Weapon 

Sea of Illusion, Blue Coral City:

Shi Feng was disguised as a Level 61 Swordsman as he walked through Blue Coral City's streets. Unlike the kingdoms and empires on the God's Domain continent, the Sea of Illusion was neutral territory, maintained by a merchant alliance. The merchant alliance mainly operated out at sea, controlling only a few cities on land Most of its towns and cities had been established on islands.

Because of this, most visiting players were either merchant players or independent players. Guilds rarely visited the Sea of Illusion. This was also why adventurer teams ruled over the area's several major cities.

Meanwhile, Blue Coral City was the Sea of Illusion's largest city.

First-time visitors were almost always surprised by what they found here.

The majority of the player population consisted of merchant players, while the rest were mostly independent players. There were very few players wearing Guild Emblems.

"Buying tons of Sea Tribe Weapons for 50 Silver each! Also selling Purplefire Crystals!"

"Selling Ocean Pearls! Get a 5% discount for buying more than 100 pearls!"

"Urgently selling three Sea Tribe Weapons for 1 Gold, 70 Silver!"

Players busied themselves as they set up stalls along the city's streets, selling a large variety of items. This wasn't typical of cities in normal kingdoms and empires.

Sea Tribe Weapons? Shi Feng slowed to a halt when he heard the advertising players.

He vaguely remembered that Sea Tribe Weapons had been popular for a time during his previous life. They had once been items that all naval players had desired.

The Sea Tribe Weapons could be traded to the Sea of Illusion's NPC forgers to commission crafted weapons, which would allow players to exhibit greater combat power in battles at sea. Weapons that had been made with Sea Tribe Weapons were 15% to 20% stronger than normal weapons of the same rank, a considerable improvement.

Only, trying to craft a high-quality naval weapon was not easy, and the production success rate wasn't 100%. If one wanted to commission a Level 60 Secret-Silver Weapon, they'd need three Sea Tribe Weapons, and the production success rate would only be 50%. A Level 60 Fine-Gold Weapon would cost 5 Level 60 Sea Tribe Weapons, and the success rate was only 30%. To put it simply, the higher the desired weapon's quality was, the more Sea Tribe Weapons a player would need, and the lower the production success rate would be. Meanwhile, players could only acquire Sea Tribe Weapons by killing the Level 50-plus members of the Sea Tribe. Hence, complete naval weapons were incredibly expensive on the market.

Of course, Sea Tribe Weapons had another purpose, and Shi Feng knew it.

Purchasing Secret Laws!

Secret Laws were extremely rare in God's Domain, even rarer than combat techniques. They also provided players a significant boost. Secret Laws were a type of Berserk Skill, but unlike normal Berserk Skills, which were prohibited in certain areas, Secret Laws could be used anywhere like combat techniques. They could even be used when Silenced

However, Secret Laws were a huge burden on the user's Stamina and Concentration. The more powerful a Secret Law was, the more Stamina and Concentration it would consume. In addition, players didn't have to master a Secret Law to use it. Only, using an unmastered Secret Law would drain more resources than usual.

The worst part was that Secret Laws would drop automatically when players died!

Even so, countless experts in God's Domain coveted Secret Laws due to their many benefits.

Secret Laws provided a boost to physique and allowed players to exhibit more of their combat power. Moreover, Secret Laws gave players a clearer idea of their flaws.

These were the reasons that players had coveted Secret Laws. They were even more valuable than combat techniques.

Meanwhile, Sea Tribe Weapons could be exchanged for one of these precious Secret Laws. Although there were limited copies of the Secret Law available and the process of acquiring one was particularly troublesome, Shi Feng didn't mind.

He might have had some trouble purchasing a few copies if he had tried before visiting the Ancient God's Maze, but he shouldn't have any issues now.

One needed to fulfill two conditions to purchase copies of the Secret Law. First, they'd need to locate the NPC that sold them; then, they'd need to obtain the required items for payment. The NPC only accepted a combination of Sea Tribe Weapons and Elemental Cores.

Other than Shi Feng, it wasn't likely that any of God's Domain's players knew about this NPC, and of course, collecting Sea Tribe Weapons and Elemental Cores wasn't a problem for Shi Feng.

Following which, Shi Feng spent 10 Silver to set up a stall in Blue Coral City's business district.

"Buying Sea Tribe Weapons for 60 Silver each! Only buying a certain amount! First come, first served!" Shi Feng shouted, immediately attracting the attention of the players on the street.

Normally, players only purchased Sea Tribe Weapons for 50 Silver each. Even players that set up stalls to sell the weapons asked for less than 60 Silver. With someone willing to spend so much on each Sea Tribe Weapon, players were bound to notice.

A short moment later, a large group of players crowded around Shi Feng to sell their Sea Tribe Weapons, rapidly depleting Shi Feng's funds.

In less than an hour, Shi Feng had spent more than 2,000 Gold, purchasing 4,352 Sea Tribe Weapons. He had basically purchased every Sea Tribe Weapon in Blue Coral City. Once customers stopped visiting his stall, he packed up and headed for a hotel to alter his appearance once more.

When Shi Feng left the hotel, he discovered several players hiding around a street corner, staring intently at the hotel's entrance. It was obvious that these players wanted to learn why he had bought so many Sea Tribe Weapons.

Unperturbed, Shi Feng found a deserted location and used the Seven Luminaries Ring to teleport out of Blue Coral City.

After using Space Movement and Spatial Gate four times in a row, Shi Feng arrived on a volcanic island that housed monsters ranging from Level 80 and Level 100. These monsters were far from ordinary with the weakest among them a Chieftain that had the combat power to rival players who reached the Trial Tower's third floor. Even ordinary Tier 2 experts of the same level would have a difficult time fighting these Chieftains one-on-one.

Meanwhile, the NPC that possessed the Secret Law copies was located in a hidden room within the volcano. Players had only learned of this NPC in the past thanks to a few players who had visited the island for a rare quest. They had accidentally stumbled across the secret room, finding this rare NPC.

Very quickly, with the help of Gale Domain, Shi Feng reached a cave inside the volcano. After killing several hundred Level 83-plus Lord ranked lava monsters, he finally found a hidden room. Although the cave's monsters were all Lords, they had dropped almost no loot. They hadn't dropped anything beyond some ordinary materials, not even a single piece of Common Equipment. Although the monsters' loot was terrible, the EXP they granted was astounding. After killing several hundred monsters, Shi Feng had finally risen from Level 70 to 71.

As he opened the door to the hidden room, Shi Feng was greeted by the sight of a dark, empty room. It only contained a stone platform.

Shi Feng grew a little excited as he approached the platform, spending 100 Magic Crystals to light the candle upon it without hesitation.

By the time the public had discovered this place in the past, the players that had pioneered the island had cleaned out the NPC's stock of Secret Law copies. Although the stock would replenish from time to time, the various superpowers had already laid claim and monopolized the NPC. Small Guilds like Shadow had only been able to watch and drool from the sidelines.

As the candlewick ignited, a storm abruptly enveloped the room. The translucent figure of a man began to materialize before Shi Feng. After an inspection, one would discover that this man was a Level 80, Tier 2 Professional Mage named Horace. However, when Shi Feng inspected the man with Omniscient Eyes, he discovered that the NPC was actually a Level 180, Tier 5 Divine Mage.

If players gave in to their greed and tried to rob this NPC, only death would await them, a particularly cruel death.

"Young adventurer, are you the one who has awakened me?" Horace asked as he watched Shi Feng with eyes swallowed by dark-blue flames, his gaze chilling.

"Yes, Lord Horace." Shi Feng nodded respectfully.

As a deceased entity, Horace abhorred the living. If Shi Feng disrespected him, he'd get nothing from this NPC.

"Very good. When I was alive, the King of the Sea Tribe hunted me down and killed me. Now, I want revenge on the Sea Tribe. However, I cannot leave this place, so I want you to be my instrument of vengeance, slaying the Sea Tribe's members. As proof of your achievement, you may bring me the Sea Tribe's unique weapons. Once you complete this task, I will reward you handsomely," Horace said. Although the NPC's tone was calm, the rage in his eyes was apparent

System: You have accepted the Epic Quest, "The Wrath of the Dead."

Quest content: Kill Sea Tribe members and obtain 3,000 Sea Tribe Weapons. 

Rewards unknown. 

Chapter 2080 - Epic Rank Reward

An Epic Quest? Shi Feng was slightly astonished when he heard the system notification.

He had never heard of Horace giving out an Epic Quest in the past. He had only known that this NPC wanted Sea Tribe Weapons in a bid for vengeance against the Sea Tribe. The quest in the past had only been an Advanced Hidden Quest, requiring 1,000 Sea Tribe Weapons to complete, and a player had to finish the quest before they could trade with Horace.

Now, not only was the quest Epic rank, but its completion also required 3,000 Sea Tribe Weapons. This massive changed ruined his plans.

In the past, the activation quest had awarded the Ocean's Heart Design, an Intermediate Magic Array Design. Although Ocean's Heart was only a Barrier-type Magic Array, it could suppress sea monsters to a frightening extent Ocean's Heart was even effective against Mythic monsters and extremely useful to Guilds trying to develop their naval prowess. The Ocean's Heart's Magic Array Scrolls had sold for astronomical prices in the past.

Of course, now that the quest had changed, its reward would be different as well.

It seems I'll have to come up with a different method. Shi Feng sighed deeply as he handed Horace 3,000 Sea Tribe Weapons.

The various major powers on the main continent had already reached a developmental bottleneck. As a result, these powers had begun to complete over the sea's resources. Fortunately, Zero Wing already had its own Shipyard, many advanced speedboats, and control of several coastal towns and naval cities. Immortal Light, Zero Wing's subordinate, had also been developing its naval strength under Shi Feng's orders and was now a significant power at sea. However, with how quickly the various major powers were developing, Zero Wing would struggle to maintain these advantages.

Shi Feng had wanted to rely on the Ocean's Heart to accelerate the Guild's development at sea, but now, he had no choice but to look for other avenues.

As Shi Feng gave Horace the Sea Tribe Weapons, the NPC's eyes glowed with excitement

"Wonderful! There are indeed 3,000 Sea Tribe Weapons here!" Horace nodded in satisfaction, his hand abruptly flashing with a bright glow. When the light subsided, he held an ancient tome. "I went to great lengths to obtain this book. Hopefully, you can make good use of it. If you obtain more Sea Tribe Weapons in the future, you can find me to trade them.

When Horace finished speaking, not only did Shi Feng obtain the tome, but he also earned an abundance of EXP. Not only did he instantly level up from 71 to 72, but he also gained two additional Legacy Skill Points from completing the quest. The quest rewards were incredible. It was much harder to level up after reaching Level 70, and Shi Feng's hidden class required twice as much EXP as normal players.

An Ancient Forging Book? Shi Feng's eyes widened in shock when he inspected the book he had earned from Horace.

Ocean's Heart didn't have much use to individual players, but the magic array was quite important to Guilds. If possible, he wanted to trade 3,000 Sea Tribe Weapons for the array design.

However, after seeing the Ancient Forging Book, this thought vanished.

In God's Domain, Ancient Forging Books were akin to Alchemy Secret Journals. Not only were they unique items, but the weapon or equipment designs they contained were also extraordinary. An Ancient Forging Book was almost as valuable as an ordinary Epic Forging Design.

Shi Feng immediately opened the Ancient Forging Book, eager to discover what item it would help produce.

Amazing! I struck gold this time! Shi Feng could not help his growing elation as he read the tome's contents.

The Ancient Forging Book Horace had given him didn't contain one weapon or equipment piece design. Rather, it contained the designs to produce the Dark-Gold Set Equipment, Crystal Light Set. Although it was only a Level 60 to Level 80 set, it was an eight-piece set equipment, possessing more set effects than its six-piece counterparts.

If a Level 60 player equipped the Crystal Light Set, their combat power would be on par with a player wearing a six-piece Level 65 Dark-Gold Set Equipment.

At this stage of the game, the various superpowers could only dream of owning six-piece Level 65 Dark-Gold Set Equipment Anyone seen wearing such a set would even earn peak experts' envy.

Of course, the Crystal Light Set had harsh production requirements. At the very least, one needed to be a Basic Master Forger to forge the set, and the required materials were extremely rare. For example, the set required a lot of Fine Titan Ore, Mana Stones, and Advanced Magic Cores, all of which were incredibly difficult to procure at this stage of the game, even for the various large Guilds.

However, material gathering was a secondary concern. The high production cost was far more important

If Shi Feng calculated the cost according to current market prices, each production attempt would cost roughly 800 Gold. Furthermore, A Basic Master Forger wouldn't have more than a 30% success rate when trying to forge the set. Even Intermediate Master Forgers would only have a 35% success rate, while Advanced Master Forgers would have a 40% chance. Even if one were lucky, they'd still spend nearly 2,400 Gold to produce one Crystal Light Set...

Although Zero Wing earned a lot of Coins each day, most of those Coins had to be spent on paying back debts. Shi Feng still needed to pay back the astronomical construction cost for Silverwing Town's airport. Moreover, he had instructed Aqua Rose to invest funds into the Lost Town's development in secret to enable the Guild to nurture more experts in a short time.

In addition, Zero Wing had to fund Immortal Light's development and purchase Epic materials for the upcoming Auction House competition. Right now, the Guild only had around 20,000 Gold available for emergencies.

If he wanted to mass-produce the Crystal Light Set and form a personal security team like Nature Manifestation's, he'd need a lot more Coins.

Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng traded 1,200 Sea Tribe Weapons and 1,500 Elemental Cores for three copies of the Basic Secret Law, Deep Sea Meditation. Shi Feng could only return later to trade for Horace's remaining three copies.

[Deep Sea Meditation] (Basic Secret Law)

Allows the user to exhibit their body's latent potential through meditation, significantly improving their physique. This Secret Law consumes a lot of Stamina and Concentration when used.

Drops upon death.

After purchasing the Secret Law copies, Shi Feng left to find the 4-star Wandering Merchant using the Seven Luminaries Ring.

After teleporting five times, Shi Feng arrived in a secret land. He then spent the next four hours clearing out the Level 80- plus monsters that stood in his way before locating a small, wooden house. A gray-robed, elderly man called Zall, one of three 4-star Wandering Merchants in the Sea of Illusion, occupied the house.

After meeting with Zall, Shi Feng purchased all 500 Stamina Gemstones the NPC had, each gemstone costing 5 Elemental Cores. He couldn't have dreamed of doing something like this in his previous life.

This NPC simply required too many Elemental Cores. If he hadn't obtained the 6,752 Elemental Cores while grinding in the Ancient God's Secret Maze, he wouldn't have dared to purchase both the Secret Law copies and the Stamina Gemstones.

When the public had discovered Zall in the past, the various superpowers had monopolized the NPC's stock. These powers left very few gemstones for other players once they had finished with Zall.

Hence, it was a dream for Shi Feng to purchase 500 Stamina Gemstones in a single transaction now.

The several players that had discovered Zall in the past had only purchased around 200 Stamina Gemstones. Even so, they had made a fortune, earning the various large Guilds' envy.

Following which, Shi Feng took out a Return Scroll and teleported back to White River City.